Another Life
by Krysstinia
Summary: When their father goes missing, Buffy and Dean team up to find him. What they find out along the way will change their lives forever. First story posted here. Please leave me a review and let me know if you're enjoying it.
1. Pilot

Buffy and Supernatural belong to their respective owners. This is a response to a challenge on Twisting the Hellmouth. Please let me know how I'm doing in a review!

Buffy sighed before looking at her father, driving with a vengeance. Ever since Sam left, he had become more and more reckless and careless about what he did. Determined more than ever to get the Demon, he had been pushing and pushing. This was his second long haul across country in as many weeks, the first to Maine, this one to California.

Dean had offered to take her with him when he went to New Orleans to stop what he suspected was a voodoo priest, but she had declined. She knew that Dean had noticed their father's increasingly erratic behavior and knew Dean would feel better with someone with Dad than Dad alone. Sometimes Dad didn't know when to call it quits.

"I'm stopping for gas at the next place," Dad said, his gruff voice breaking the silence that had been between them since eight that morning.

"Good, I have to stretch my legs," Buffy said, rubbing her forehead with the heel of her hand. Ten hours in a truck without many breaks always gave her a headache.

Ten minutes later, Dad was leaning against the truck with the nozzle in the tank and Buffy was inside. '_Just reached a gas station for a fuel up. How's it going?'_ Buffy typed into her phone.

She grabbed a Cherry Pepsi when her phone beeped. _Got into town a few hours ago. Another one died while I was on my way here. I may call to bounce ideas later._ Buffy smiled. She and Dean worked well when the other was available to bounce ideas, bicker with, or just interact with.

They had been together since the moment Dean had popped out, twenty minutes after Buffy, and despite their difference in gender, they were almost identical. The two of them threw themselves into the career that their father had raised them in without any complaint. They were partners in almost everything they did, and when it came to family, no one or anything would get in their way of protecting who was theirs.

Buffy sent Dean a smiley face with it's tongue sticking out before picking up a bag of peanut M&Ms and walking to the register. She paid and hopped back into the truck where her father was waiting. Jericho, California, here they come.

SPN/BtVS: Pilot

They had been in Jericho for a week. Dad had conducted the interviews and Buffy had done the research and they had come to the conclusion that they were dealing with a Woman in White, in the form of one Constance Welch. Constance's story matched with the local legend and there were no odd occurrences that would indicate that they were on the wrong path. Dad didn't usually look for those, but after a nasty accident, it had become second nature for Buffy.

All they had to do now was interview the husband and find out where Constance was buried, then salt and burn the bones. Buffy offered to help when Dad said that he would do it alone, but he refused and she had relented. When Buffy woke up the next morning, her father was gone. So were all of his bags and her cell phone. Dad had ditched her, and cut her off.

SPN/BtVS: Pilot

Sam sighed and glanced at the answering machine for the tenth time. It was the first time in almost two years that anyone in his family tried to call him, not since he had left for school and made it glaringly obvious that he didn't want to be in the Hunting business. Buffy and Dean had tried to keep in touch, but after Sam rejected their first few attempts, they gave up. But this time, he couldn't ignore or reject it.

Jess had been the one to tell him that his sister had called. She had gotten back from classes before he had and checked the messages, and there it was, blinking on the machine. Jess had cheerfully told him that a woman calling herself Buffy had called needing help. She jokingly suggested that Sam had a woman on the side, before Sam corrected her. Jess then pointed to the machine and ordered him to listen to the message then do what he could.

Which brought Sam to where he was, trying to bring himself to hear why Buffy needed him. _This is stupid_, he thought before pressing the play button before he could change his mind.

"_Hey, Sam. I know I'm one of the people you'd like to never hear from again, but I've got no one else to turn to. Dad and I were on a trip, and he took off in the middle of the night. I have no idea where he went. I need to get out of here, and your number was the only one I could remember. If Dean can't get ahold of me, he'll be coming after you. I'm in the Palm Motel in Jericho. Please. . ." _The message cut off with a series of high pitched clicking noise.

Sam cocked his head, then checked the clock on his cell. It was already past five, and Jericho was a three hour drive. Buffy's message wasn't desperate, his sister could wait until the morning. Jess wanted to go to a Halloween Party, and if he had a choice, Buffy was the member of his family that he wanted Jess to met. Maybe Jess would be willing to go with him.

SPN/BtVS: Pilot

The sound of a window opening on the ground floor woke Sam up in an instant. Pulling on a shirt and grabbing a bat, Sam headed down the stairs as quietly. He looked around and a sudden movement caught his eye in the kitchen. He was grateful for his training as a Hunter when the intruder spun around and punched him in the jaw. The two traded blows, blocking more than actually hitting the other, until the intruder tripped him and pinned Sam to the floor.

"Easy, tiger," the intruder said, his face coming into focus in the light from an outside streetlight.

"Dean?" Sam asked, breathing heavily. Dean chuckled, offering Sam a hand up. "You scared the crap out of me!"

"That's cause you're out of practice," Dean smirked. Sam glared up at Dean before accepting the offered hand. He pulled down sharply and rolled, so Dean was under him. "Or not. Get off me." Dean tapped twice on Sam's fist.

Sam rolled to the side and pulled Dean to his feet. "What are you doing here?" Sam asked, even though he thought he could guess the answer.

"Well, I was looking for a beer," Dean laughed, clapping Sam on the shoulder.

Sam gave Dean a hard look. "You're here because of Dad and Buffy, aren't you?"

Dean's head snapped up. "What do you know about it?"

"Buffy called earlier today, asking for help," Sam told him.

"We've got to talk," Dean said, tone suddenly very serious.

"If you know they were in trouble, why didn't you call?" Sam asked.

"You didn't pick up for Buffy, why would you pick up for me?" Dean countered.

The light suddenly flicked on. "Sam?" Jess asked, bringing the attention of the brothers to her.

"Hey, Jess. This is Dean. Dean, this is my girlfriend, Jessica," Sam introduced, walking over to her side.

"Is that the Dean from your sister's message? Your brother?" Jess asked.

"Yeah," Sam confirmed.

"Well, she did warn you that he would be coming," Jess said.

"Well, I got to tell you, you are way out of my brother's league," Dean smirked, eyeing Jess as she stood in her nightshirt and booty shorts. He raised his eyebrows in invitation.

"Let me go put something on," Jess hesitated.

"Don't bother, I'll be leaving soon. I've just got to talk to your boyfriend for a minute. It was nice to meet you." Dean gave her one more once over before turning his attention to Sam.

"Whatever you want to say you can say in front of her," Sam said.

"Dad and Buffy were on a hunting trip, and neither have been home in a few days."

Sam cleared his throat. "Jess, give us a few minutes, please."

SPN/BtVS: Pilot

As soon as Jess was on her way upstairs, Dean rounded on Sam. "Buffy calls you asking for help and you don't drop everything and go?"

"I had plans! She didn't seem to be in any trouble that couldn't wait until tomorrow!" Sam shouted.

"Let me hear the message," Dean ordered. Sam nodded, and led him to the answering machine.

"There's EVP at the end of the message," Sam said, in realization.

"Yeah, there is," Dean agreed. "And this makes Dad's voicemail a little more understandable. I've got a few things to show you in the car."

Sam reluctantly followed Dean down the stairs to the road. "You going after them tonight?"

"Yeah. I'm not going to wait around when my family needs me!" Dean's voice carried a thinly veiled accusation.

"You expect me to go with you." Sam spoke it like a statement, but there was a hidden question to it.

"You're not understanding, Sam. Dad took off, and Buffy's stranded. We've got to go get them."

"You remember the poltergeist in Amherst, or the Devil's Gates in Cliffton? Dad's always missing, and he's always fine!" Sam insisted.

"What of Buffy, huh? Just going to let her rot in a back country motel without a care in the world?" Dean accused. "You coming with me, or not?"

"I'm not," Sam said, stopping on the stairs and crossing his arms.

"Why not?" Dean demanded.

"I swore I was done hunting, for good," Sam said.

"And you're about to let some creature get the only one who didn't try to fight your decision? The only member of your family that you want Jess to meet?" Dean demanded. At Sam's surprised look, Dean continued. "Yeah, I noticed. The not going until tomorrow really gave it away. What would you tell Jess if it turned out that Buffy was in the middle of a hunt? Jess doesn't know anything about that kind of stuff, so what would you tell her, huh?"

Sam's expression turned sour. "You've got a point."

"You're damn right, I've got a point. You going to help your sister, or are you going to stay with your girlfriend, who doesn't know you as well as you know her?" Dean demanded.

"All I wanted to do was live a normal, safe life," Sam said, defeated.

"So, that's why you ran away." Dean said, as if he didn't know already.

"I didn't run! It was Dad who said that if I left, I should stay gone!"

"Don't punish Buffy and me for what you think Dad did to you! In case you don't remember, the two of us tried to stay in contact with you! You were the ones to cut us off!" Dean's voice became softer. "I can't do this alone."

"Yeah, you can," Sam argued.

"I don't want to." Dean's voice was uncharacteristically vulnerable.

Dean always looked sad when Buffy wasn't around, but this was the first time that he looked like he would break. "What was he hunting?" Sam asked.

Dean smiled and started walking to the car again. When they reached the Impala, Dean went straight to the trunk and started muttering to himself. "Where did I put that. . . ah! Here it is."

"When Dad and Buffy left, why didn't you go with them?" Sam asked.

"I was working my own job in New Orleans. Voodoo witch doctor."

"You went alone?" Sam scoffed.

"First off, I'm 26. Secondly, I offered to take Buffy with me, but she didn't want to go." Dean pulled out some papers. "Here we go. They were working on a job on this two lane black top outside of Jericho, California. About two months ago this guy vanishes. Found his car though." Dean pointed to the article in the folder.

"Maybe he was kidnapped," Sam suggested.

"That would explain just one. There have been a total of ten over the past twenty years, all along the same five mile stretch of road," Dean continued, handing Sam the file. "The last I heard from Dad was three weeks ago, but Buffy and I text or call at least once a day, and I haven't heard from her in at least three days. Then Dad calls and leaves me this voice mail."

Dean pulled out a tape player and started it. "_Dean, something bad is starting to happen. I need to try to figure out what's. . . . . Be careful Dean. Go protect your sister. We're all in danger._" The same hiss and crackle that was on the end of Buffy's message was all over this message, making parts hard to hear.

"There's EVP on that," Sam said.

"Much better, Sam. I ran it through a gold wave and took out the hiss, and this is what I got."

He pushed the play button again. "_I can never go home._"

"Never go home?" Sam repeated.

"In almost two years, neither of us has bothered you or asked you for a thing. Now both Buffy and I are asking for your help," Dean looked up at him.

Sam sighed and gave the answer he knew he was going to give the minute he knew that Dean had broken into his house. "I'll go. I'll help you get Buffy, but I got to be back here by Monday. You and Buffy will have to find Dad yourself."

Dean smiled at Sam's retreating back when he heard Sam's response. The three Winchester men might never agree on anything, but there was one thing that brought all three together, and that was Buffy.

SPN/BtVS: Pilot

"What happened to going tomorrow?" Jess asked, watching as Sam flitted around the room, packing a duffel bag.

"Dean thinks she's in bigger trouble than she let on, and we need to get her out of it," Sam said.

"What about your dad? Is he alright?" Jess asked.

"I don't think he's in any trouble," Sam deflected. "I'm just going for Buffy. She and Dean are going to look for Dad."

"Sam." Jess grabbed onto Sam's flannel jacket and pulled to a stop. "Are you sure you're alright?"

"I'm fine. I will be back on Sunday night. I promise." With that, Sam gave Jess a hasty peck on her cheek and rushed out of the room.

SPN/BtVS: Pilot

Dean walked out of the gas station, carrying a handful of semi-healthy foods. "Hey, Sam! Want breakfast?"

Sam looked over at him from the passenger's side of the Impala. "Watcha got?"

"A dreadful looking fruit salad, a sandwich, and a few bags of cracker jacks. I got a tea for you." Dean tossed the food over and Sam caught it half heartedly.

"How'd you pay for that stuff? You guys still runnin' credit card scams?" Sam asked, picking at the fruit.

"Hunting isn't exactly a pro-ball career," Dean said, placing the gas hose back on its stand and getting in the car. "Besides all we do is apply. It's not like we ask them to send the cards."

"Which names did you use this time?" Sam asked.

"Burt Afiramain, his son Hector, and his daughter Edna. Scored three cards out of the deal."

"Sounds about right," Sam chuckled. He gave up on the fruit and returned his attention to the box in his lap. "I swear, you got to update your cassette tape collection!"

"Why?" It would've been funny if Dean hadn't been serious.

"For one, they're cassette tapes. And two, Black Sabbath? Moterhead? Metallica? It's the greatest hits of mullet rock!" Sam explained, picking up a tape at random. "At least Buffy's got some taste." Sam picked up a few cassettes that were obviously hers. There was no way that Dean would listen to Abba, Bonnie Tyler, or Pat Benatar. Even the Green Day in the box was more than likely hers.

"House rules, Sammy. Driver picks the music, shotgun shuts his cakehole," Dean said, grabbing a tape at random and popping it into the tape player. AC/DC's _Black in Black_ blared out of the Impala's speakers.

"Sammy is a chubby twelve year old. It's Sam!" Sam insisted, knowing that Dean wouldn't listen. He never did.

"I can't hear you, the music's too loud!" Dean shouted with a laugh. Sam laughed as well as Dean tore out of the gas station.

SPN/BtVS: Pilot

"Yes, thank you," Sam said then hung up. "No one matching either Buffy's description or Dad's had been in either the hospital or the morgue."

"If Dad were in either, Buffy would've told you," Dean argued.

"Yeah," Sam sighed. "But it never hurts to check."

"I know," Dean conceded. Something caught his eye on right side of the road. "Check it out."

Sam raised his head and saw a group of cops surrounding a car on a bridge. "You think it's part of our case?"

Dean didn't answer, just pulled over and turned off the engine, before reaching across Sam to the glove department. He grabbed the box inside and rummaged around until he found what he was looking for. "Let's go," Dean said, getting out of the car.

They heard the two officers talking as they approached.

"So, this kid, Troy. He's dating your daughter, isn't he?"

"Yeah," the second officer confirmed.

"How's Amy handling it?" the first officer asked.

"She's putting up missing posters all over town."

"You fellas had another one just like this last month, didn't you?" Dean asked, interrupting.

"And who are you?" the first officer demanded.

"Federal marshals," Dean answered, showing the badge he took from the glove compartment to the officer.

"Aren't you a little young to be marshals?"

"That's awfully kind of you," Dean laughed. "You did have another like this one?"

"Yeah. About a mile up. There've been a few others." the officer agreed.

"You knew the victim?" Dean asked.

"It's a small town, everyone knows everyone," the officer answered.

"Is there any connection to the victims, other than that they're all men?" Dean asked next.

"Not as far as we can tell," the officer denied.

"Any theories?" Sam asked, walking around the car.

"Nothing solid. Kidnapping ring? Serial murder?"

"Thank you for your time," Sam said, discreetly pulling Dean away, ignoring the look that Dean sent in his direction. "What was that about?"

"Come on, Sam! They don't actually know what's going on here!" Dean insisted. "If we're going to find Buffy, it's up to us to stop this!"

SPN/BtVS: Pilot

"What did Buffy say the name of her motel was?" Dean asked.

"The Palm, I think," Sam answered, distractedly. He was flipping through notes he had taken after their brief chat with Amy and her friend. The brothers had met the two as Amy was putting up signs in town and Sam convinced Dean to stop for a few minutes. He raised his head and pointed to the left. "There it is."

Dean turned and walked into the main office, coming out a few minutes later. "Room 15," he said, shutting the door and turning the car on.

Dean pulled in front of the got out of the car, examining the door as Sam got out. "Pick the lock? Or am I doing it?"

Sam crouched down and took out his old kit, that he was surprised Dean still had, just as the door opened. "Get in, I'm being watched."

Sam looked up and saw the worried eyes of his sister and quickly got off his knees. Dean was right behind him as he entered the room.

"What the hell is going on?" Dean demanded as soon as the door was closed.

"Dad took off again. I don't know why, but I have a good guess. He got some lead on the Demon and thought he needed to jump on them. He left me here, in the middle of a hunt, without anyway to finish it." Buffy ran a hand through her honey colored hair, pulling it behind her ear. "That and a group of people arrived yesterday. Approached me while I was in the library and called me by a slightly different name, expecting me to know who they were. I ditched them, but they found me late last night. Don't exactly know how. I noticed, and waited, and here you two are."

"Yeah, here we are. What do you have to do to finish the hunt? The sooner we finish, the sooner we can get out of here. You'll lose your tail, and Sammy will be back at school," Dean said.

Buffy turned to Sam and walked up to him. "I've missed you, Sammy boy. How's school been?"

Sam pulled Buffy into a hug. "It's been great. I've missed you too, Buffy."

"I know that you thought that we all disagreed with your choice to go to school, and I know that it's a tender subject. I just wanted you to know that I'm proud of you."

"That means a lot," Sam said, pulling out of the hug.

"Chick flick moment over?" Dean asked impatiently.

"Yeah, Dean, it's over. You ready to find out what you're up against?" she asked, walking over to the wall.

Dean and Sam followed and Buffy began debriefing them. "Our big bad is a Woman in White, specifically one Constance Welch. She drowned her kids in her home before jumping of Sylvania Bridge in 1981."

"Women in White go after men that have been unfaithful," Sam said.

"Yes. If they aren't unfaithful, she makes them be, if she can. The best way to put one of them down is the usual salt and burn. If Dad is reliable, and he usually is, she is buried behind her old family house, at the end of Breckenridge Road. Dad was supposed to salt and burn the night he left," Buffy continued.

"He didn't. Or if he did he missed something. Another one was found last night," Dean said.

"Okay, then. One of you is going to talk to Joseph Welch to confirm Dad's information. The other is going to help me get ready to leave. Which one wants to clean?" Buffy asked.

"I'll go," Dean said as soon as Buffy asked.

"You see me for a few minutes and then you're out the door?" Buffy scoffed, a smile on her face.

"You bet. I'll be back soon." Dean pulled Buffy into a hug and walked out the door.

A beep rang from Sam's pocket. Sam took out his phone and glanced at it. "Voicemail. You mind if I check it?"

"Go ahead. I'll get started on the walls," Buffy shrugged.

She watched as her youngest brother listened to whoever was on the other line as she took papers off the wall. He was truly happy, something that the Winchester family was always short on.

"What?" Sam barked into the phone, the tone telling her it was Dean on the other line this time. Sam's next question of, "What about you?" clued Buffy into what was going on. Police were outside. They had to go. "Police have Dean," Sam reported unnecessarily.

"Bathroom window. Go. I'm behind you," Buffy said, pushing Sam in that general direction and grabbing her essentials and bags. She passed the bags out to Sam and climbed out the window.

SPN/BtVS: Pilot

Dean groaned. The last place he wanted to be was sitting in a police station. Especially when he hadn't done anything other than lie, but he did that so often that he never really thought about it anymore. The sheriff came in and leaned over the table. He was a chubby man with a ruddy face. Dean leaned back in his chair and smirked up at him. "Want to give me your real name?" he asked, not taking off his hat.

"I've told you, it's Nugent. Ted Nugent," Dean grinned.

"Do you know what kind of trouble you're in, son?" he asked.

"We talking misdemeanor trouble, or squeal like a pig trouble?" Dean asked, grin still on his face.

"You've got the pictures of five missing people on your wall, and I've got statements that you're keeping a girl in there against her will," the sheriff replied. "Plus a whole lot of satanic shit all over the walls. You're officially a suspect for the murders and for kidnapping."

Dean laughed. "That makes since. How would a three year old kill a fully grown man?"

"I know you've got partners. One is an older man. Maybe he started it. The other's around your age, and I'm betting he's got the girl. So tell me, Dean, this his?" The sheriff tossed down a battered leather journal. Dean glanced up with barely hidden surprise.

"Thought it might be," the sheriff continued. "I leafed through this. From what I can make out, it's nine kinds of crazy. But I found this, too." He flipped through the book until he landed on the page he was looking for.

Dean leaned forward to look at what the sheriff wanted him to look at. There on the page was his name, a set of co-ordinates under it. Buffy's real name was under that, with what looked like a phone number under her name.

"You're staying here until you tell me what that means." Dean looked up at the sheriff.

SPN/BtVS: Pilot

"Any ideas?" Sam asked.

"You go to Welch's. I'll get Dean out," Buffy said.

"How are you going to do that?" Sam asked.

"I'll figure out something. You worry about Welch," Buffy insisted. "If you don't hear from me by nightfall, something's happened to me and you'll have to get Dean. What's your cell?"

Sam wrote it down on the back of a business card and Buffy tucked it into her pants. "Take the car. I assume you still have your keys?" At Sam's nod, Buffy took off, noticing as she left, that her bags were laying at his feet.

SPN/BtVS: Pilot

Sam didn't have any trouble finding Joseph Welch's new house, and had quickly confirmed that Joseph had cheated on Constance. It took a shorter time than he had expected, and he decided to eat before worrying about Dean and Buffy.

SPN/BtVS: Pilot

"I don't know how many times I have to tell you. It's my high school locker combo," Dean insisted, grin still on his face.

"I've got no where to go tonight," the sheriff said, leaning against the table.

Another officer came into the room. "We just got a 911, shots fired on Whiteford Road."

"I'll have to deal with you when I get back. You have to use the bathroom?" the sheriff asked Dean.

Dean blinked. "No."

"Good." A pair of handcuffs appeared and Dean was cuffed to the table. Dean was soon left alone. Sirens were leaving when a body entered the room through the window.

"Having fun?" Buffy asked, walking over to Dean.

"Tons," was the biting reply. Buffy pulled out a hairpin from her bun and quickly picked the lock. Dean stood up, rubbing absently at his wrist. "Dad left clues to where he went," Dean said, tilting his head to the table where Dad's journal lay.

"Co-ordinates," Buffy noted, before seeing the second message.

"Who's number is that?" Dean asked.

"A friend of Dad's. He thinks she might be able to help me with my nightmares," Buffy answered, picking up the book and placing it in the inside pocket of the jacket she was wearing. "Let's go."

"Is that my jacket?" Dean asked as Buffy climbed out the window.

SPN/BtVS: Pilot

Sam was driving along Centennial Highway when his phone rang. He pulled it out and flipped it open. "Hey."

"I got him," Buffy said. "Where are you?"

"On my way back to town. I wanted to check out the bridge again," Sam answered.

"Find anything?" Buffy asked.

"Not at the bridge. But Joseph Welch was unfaithful. We are dealing with a Woman in White, and she's buried out behind her old house, on Breckenridge Road. That should've been Dad's next stop," Sam reported.

"Should have, but wasn't. The police found Dad's journal," Buffy said.

"He never goes anywhere without that thing," Sam said, surpised.

"I know," Buffy sighed.

"Was there anything in there?" Sam asked.

"Yeah. His usual means to tell us where he's going," Buffy grumbled.

"Co-ordinates? Where to?" Sam asked.

"Not sure yet. Dean's looking," Buffy replied.

"I don't understand. What's so important that Dad would leave in the middle of a job?" Sam demanded. "Why would he leave you here? What the hell is going. . . SHIT!" Sam shouted, slamming on the breaks.

In front of the car was a woman in white. Her dark hair covered her face, wind swept and unkempt. The car blew right through her as it squealed to halt.

"Sam?" Buffy called through the phone Sam dropped onto the floor.

"Take me home?" Constance asked. Sam jumped, glancing into the rear view mirror before looking into the back seat.

"No," Sam said, as calm as he could.

Constance's eyes became hard. "Take. Me Home."

"No," Sam repeated, then he wasn't in control of the car anymore. The locks went down and the car started driving on its own. Sam puled at the locks, but they didn't budge. He was trapped.

SPN/BtVS: Pilot

"What happened?" Dean demanded, as Buffy hung up.

"He's been caught," Buffy guessed. "He's a man on his own on a haunted highway. With his luck. . ."

"She's got him," Dean finished. "We've got to get to Breckenridge Road."

"There's a junk yard a block over. Let's steal one of those cars. We only need to get out there. He has the Impala," Buffy said, and began leading the way.

SPN/BtVS: Pilot

Sam stopped trying to get out of the car after ten minutes. He was caught, but he knew he wasn't going to die. Women like her could only kill those who cheated, and he never had the inclination to do so. Constance was out of luck.

"Don't do this," Sam pleaded, knowing that trying to reason with a spirit wouldn't work.

Constance, like he expected, ignored him. She leaned forward and looked wistfully at the house she had pulled the car in front of. "I can never go home," she whispered, painfully.

"You're scared to go home," Sam whispered, realization dawning on him.

Before he could do anything about it, Constance was on his lap. "Hold me. I'm so cold."

Constance was solid enough for him to push against, and Sam struggled, trying to keep her away from him. "You can't kill me. I'm not unfaithful, never have been!"

"You will be," she promised, leaning forward to try to kiss him.

Sam changed tactics. He had an iron fob on his keychain, if he could pull it close enough, she'd disappear. Constance flickered in and out of existence as he struggled to grab his keys. Suddenly the door was pulled open and Sam was showered in salt. Constance disappeared.

"You alright?" Buffy asked, pulling Sam out far enough for him to cough up the salt he inhaled.

"I think so," Sam said, before he was yanked back into the car and Buffy was thrown into a nearby tree.

Dean, who was right behind Buffy, shot at Constance, giving Sam enough time to restart the car. "I'm taking you home," Sam vowed, throwing the car into first, then second gear, blasting through the house, stopping in what used to be a living room.

Dean and Buffy followed Sam and came to a stop outside the driver's side door. "Can you move?" Dean asked, opening the door.

"I think so," Sam hissed, carefully getting out.

"Boys," Buffy called, her attention on the spirit. Constance was holding a framed photograph, her expression unreadable to the three. Sam and Dean walked to either side of Buffy and watched as Constance threw down the picture in disgust. A bureau flew across the room pinning the three to the side of the car at the same time water started to cascade down the stairs from the second floor landing.

Constance flitted to the foot of the stairs, not paying any attention to the struggles of the three living people. There was a soft echo of two sets of footsteps, halting on the fourth step from the top, just barely enough for Sam, Dean, and Buffy to see them. "You've come back to us, Mommy," two voices echoed. Two children, one girl and one boy, materialized at Constance's side, latching onto her, ignoring their mother's screams. Constance and her two children flickered in and out while melting into the floor. It was all over in a matter of minutes.

"Oh, thank god," Buffy whispered, pushing against the bureau, which landed halfway across the room.

"So this is where she drowned her kids," Dean concluded, wrapping an arm across his sister's shoulders and opening the passenger's side door.

"That's why she could never go home. She was afraid to face them," Sam agreed.

"You found her weak spot. Nice work, Sammy," Dean congratulated, clapping Sam on the shoulder.

Buffy threw Dean's arm off her shoulders. "What were you thinking, shooting Casper in the face, you freak?" she teased.

"Hey, saved his ass," Dean shrugged, walking slowly around the Impala. "If you've screwed up my car, I'm going to kill you."

Sam laughed as he got in the back seat, Dean and Buffy in the front. Dean tore out of the house and back onto the road.

SPN/BtVS: Pilot

The next morning saw Sam and Dean in the front seat with Buffy stretched out in the back. Dean was driving, and Sam had a map in his lap.

"So, here's where Dad went," Sam said, pointing to a place in the middle of Colorado. "A place called Blackwater Ridge."

"Colorado, land of the mile high club," Buffy joked.

"Do you know what that refers to?" Sam asked, confused.

"Yeah, when you have sex in an airplane, but if you think about it, a most of Colorado's above a mile in elevation," Buffy reasoned. "Ever heard that Denver's nickname is the Mile High City?"

Sam shook his head in silent laughter.

"How far?" Dean asked.

"About six hundred miles," Sam estimated.

"If we shag ass after we drop Sam off, we could make it by late tomorrow morning," Dean said, glancing at Buffy in the mirror. She knew how much going for Sam had cost him, but she also knew that it went a long way in getting the family back at some point.

"Thanks, Dean," Sam said.

SPN/BtVS: Pilot

The three got to Stanford a little after eleven in the morning. Sam got out of the car, followed by Buffy. He grabbed his things and gave Buffy a tight hug. "Call me when you find him?" Sam asked.

Buffy's smile was teary. "You bet. Take care of yourself, you hear?"

"I will. Maybe I'll be able to meet you somewhere," Sam said.

"Yeah, maybe," Dean grunted. Sam let go of Buffy and she slid into Sam's seat in the front. Sam was about three feet away when Dean called out his name. Sam turned back, face expectant. "You know, we made one hell of a team back there. If the need strikes, don't hesitate to call."

Sam smiled and tapped the roof of the car before heading back up the walkway to his apartment, pausing to watch Dean and Buffy drive away.

"Something felt off," Buffy muttered.

"Off how?" Dean asked.

"I'm not sure, but something's not right. We need to head back, now," Buffy insisted.

Dean nodded. Buffy's gut feelings hadn't been wrong since she started having them two years ago. He found the nearest place to do a U-turn and headed back to Sam's place.

SPN/BtVS: Pilot

"Jess?" Sam called as he opened his apartment door. He walked in and noticed a few cookies on the kitchen counter. He picked one up and stuck it in his mouth. It was barely warm. Smiling to himself and picking up another cookie, he headed into the bedroom.

He heard the shower running and decided to relax on the bed and wait for her to come out. She liked to jog on Sunday mornings and was cranky unless she showered afterwards.

He lay down and took a bite of his second cookie before he felt something hit his face. A second drop hit quickly afterwards, and Sam opened his eyes. There she was, his beautiful Jessica. Pinned to the ceiling just like his mother had been, twenty-two years to the day before. Her mouth was open in horror, her eyes wide and terrified. Her stomach was covered in blood and her arms and legs were arranged like she was trying to push off and land on the bed.

"NO!" Sam shouted. He reached up for her just as she burst into flames.

"Sam!" two voices rang out. Sam sat up in bed trying to get to his flaming girlfriend.

"Jess! Jess!" Sam cried, not noticing when Buffy and Dean burst into the room. He didn't notice when Dean pulled Sam against him or when Buffy pushed the two out into the hallway just as a column of flames snaked out to get them.

"Get him out of here! I'll be right behind you!" Buffy shouted to Dean, above the roar of the flames and the cries and pleading of Sam.

Dean just nodded, pulling Sam out of the flaming house for the second time in their lives.

SPN/BtVS: Pilot

Buffy reached her brothers as the cop finished her interrogation. "I'm sorry for your loss," she said before flipping her notepad closed and leaving.

"You alright? Health-wise?" Buffy asked Sam.

He glared at her, but shrugged. "I'm fine."

Buffy glanced at Dean, and she knew that he felt the same worry that she did. They followed their bother to the trunk of the Impala and opened it. Sam pulled out a shotgun from under his waistband, cocked it, then tossed it into the trunk. "We've got work to do," he growled, slamming the lid.

SPN/BtVS: Pilot

Across the street four people huddled close together, watching the siblings. "She didn't recognize you?" one asked.

"No. She didn't even recognize her own name," another replied.

"But you're sure it's her?" the first asked.

"Yeah. Once a Slayer, always a Slayer," the second answered. "But her life was very different this time around."

"Could that have influenced her not being Called this time?" a third asked.

"It's possible, though I'm sure it's more that she was already activated," the fourth answered. "With the botched spell, she wouldn't have been activated twice. If anything the spell to activate all the Potentials activated her as well." The first one scowled at the mention of the spell but kept her mouth shut.

"How do we get her to trust us?" the third one asked.

"We wait. Sooner or later she will remember. Being a Slayer might make it quicker, but we have to wait for her," the fourth one answered.

"At least she's doin' something that will help her on that front," the second said, eyeing the brothers.

"That's the best we can hope for," the fourth agreed. "Hunting will help remind her of who she is, hopefully sooner rather than later."


	2. Wendigo

Please let me know how I'm doing in a review!

Dean glanced beside him, then into the back seat. Both Buffy and Sam were sleeping, and both appeared to be having nightmares. Sam was thrashing around, head flopping from side to side as he shook his head in denial. Dean decided to take the chance and clapped his hand on Sam's shoulder.

Sam jackknifed up, breathing hard and looking around until his eyes focused on Dean. "You okay?" Dean asked.

"Yeah. Just peachy," Sam scoffed.

"Another nightmare?" Dean asked, not waiting for a reply. "You better wake up Buffy. She's in the throws of one too."

"Why does she have nightmares?" Sam asked, turning in his seat so he could reach her shoulder.

"A lot happens in two years, Sammy," Dean answered, cryptically.

Sam glared, but gently prodded Buffy's shoulder. He had barely touched her when his wrist was grabbed in an iron fist. Buffy's eyes were open, but she wasn't seeing.

"_No family, no friends. Take all that away and what's left?" The man taunted. He had a sword in his hand, pointed at her face. _

_Buffy looked at the man one more time. The flowing black shirt was tucked into black leather pants. The cruel smirk on his handsome face was full of arrogance. Buffy closed her eyes and honed her senses like Giles had been trying to teach her to do. She heard the wind the sword made as Angelus pulled back and aimed for her throat._

"_Me," was her answer as she caught the sword and thrust it back at him. _

_She grabbed her fallen weapon and beat him back against the statue in the middle of the hall. Angelus was on his knees in front of her. She raised her sword, prepared to kill him, when he seized up and his eyes glowed. Willow had managed it. His soul was back._

"_Buffy?" Angelus called, confused. "What's going on? I don't remember anything. It's all muddled. . ." He looked up at her from his knees, chocolate eyes pleading._

"_Angel?" Buffy whispered, not daring to believe it, and knowing it was true. Her kind, loving boyfriend had returned and she had to kill him, to save the world. It was him or the world._

_She lowered her weapon, absently noting the growing portal behind him. She walked closer and gave him a long, deep kiss. "I love you," she sobbed._

"_I love you," Angel repeated, going in for another kiss._

_Buffy let him, tears running down her face. "Close your eyes," she requested, pulling away. Angel gave her a soft smile before doing as she requested. Buffy took a deep breath and stabbed him through the heart. _

_Angel's eyes flew open betrayal shining though. "Buffy!" he cried._

_Buffy backed away sobbing, hands covering her mouth. Angel disappeared in a bright orange light, the sword that she put through his chest sticking out of the statue's belly._

"Buffy!" Sam shouted, shaking her with the hand that wasn't in her tight grasp. He watched as Buffy returned to awareness.

"Sam?" she grunted, voice thick with sleep.

"That's right. Let go of me, would you?" Sam asked, pulling on his captured arm.

"What was it this time?" Dean asked.

"Angelus," Buffy answered, sitting up. "The ending fight. I killed him by stabbing him through the chest."

"Nice," Dean commented. "That's one thing we don't have in our arsenal."

"Shows what you know," Buffy laughed. "I've put all kinds of things in there that you haven't found yet."

"I know every bit of weaponry in that trunk!" Dean boasted.

"I didn't say I put them in the trunk, did I?" Buffy taunted, grin on her face.

Dean didn't reply, just handed her a pen. Buffy pulled out a worn notebook from under the back seat and began writing. "Where are we?" she asked.

"Just outside of Grand Junction," Dean answered.

Sam watched the two interact with growing amusement and sadness. He had missed them over the past two years, but the two of them had grown closer while he had drifted away from them. It was like he was trying to get to know an old friend all over again.

"Maybe we shouldn't have left so soon," Sam said, pulling their attention back to him.

"Sam, we stayed there for a week and didn't find anything. What else do you expect us to do?" Buffy asked.

"If we want to find out what killed Jess, we. . ." Dean started.

"We need to find Dad, I know," Sam pouted.

"Exactly. Dad disappearing, and this thing showing up again after twenty years, this isn't a coincidence. There are two things I don't believe in: coincidence and leprechauns," Buffy agreed.

"It's weird though. These co-ordinates that Dad left, the ones to Blackwater Ridge, there's nothing there. Just woods," Sam said, getting out the map yet again, and pointing to the spot on the map. "Why would he want us to go there?"

"Sam, I don't know. Let's go in and find out," Buffy suggested as Dean pulled into the visitor's parking lot for Lost Creek National Forest.

SPN/BtVS: Wendigo

The three of them walked into the building. A few rangers were talking behind a counter in the corner. Sam and Buffy walked over to the model of the forest in the middle of the room.

"Looks like the ridge is pretty remote," Buffy said, studying the model.

"Cut off by canyons here, rough terrain there, with dense forest. Abandoned mines peppering the mountainside," Sam added, pointing to the north and west of the bump labeled Blackwater Ridge.

"Dude! Check out the size of the friggin' bear!" Dean exclaimed, pointing a picture on the wall. The bear in question was being lifted out of a heavy duty truck by two men, and looked to be the size of a minivan.

"And a dozen or more grizzlies in the area," Sam finished, turning back to look at Dean.

"You boys aren't planning to go out to Blackwater Ridge, by any chance, are you?" a ranger asked.

Buffy looked at his name tag then up into his face. "Ranger Wilkinson, we're just thinking about planning a hike, maybe a camping trip."

"Bull," Wilkinson said. "You're friends with that Hailey girl, aren't you?"

"You didn't have to be mean about it," pouted Buffy.

"I'm going to tell you exactly what I told her. Her brother filled out a back country permit saying he was planing on being back on the 24th. It's not exactly a missing persons, is it?" Wilkinson asked. "You tell her that her brother's just fine."

"We'll do that," Dean smiled. "She's quite a pistol, isn't she?"

"That's putting it mildly," Wilkinson grumbled.

"You know what might make her feel better?" Dean asked. "A copy of her brother's permit. Seeing the return date might make her settle down."

SPN/BtVS: Wendigo

Ten minutes later, Dean was grinning at a piece of paper clutched in his hand.

"You crusin' for a hookup?" Sam asked as he opened the passenger's side door.

"What do you mean?" Dean asked, pausing.

"The co-ordinates point to Blackwater Ridge, so why are we even talking to this girl?" Sam demanded, not noticing when Buffy slid past him and into the front seat.

"We should know what we're walking into before we walk into it," Buffy said, drawing Sam's attention. "Get in, Sam."

Sam rolled his eyes and got into the back seat as Dean turned on the ignition. "Since when are you two ask questions first, jump later?"

"Since Buffy almost got killed, two years ago," Dean spat, throwing the car into gear and tearing out of the parking lot.

SPN/BtVS: Wendigo

Dean pulled in front of a normal looking house. "Rangers?" he asked, taking out the box of fake IDs out of the glove compartment.

"That seems like the safer bet," Buffy agreed, getting out of the car.

Dean pulled out two IDs from the box then put it back. Getting out and handing Buffy her ID, he led the way up the walk way.

Buffy rang the doorbell, then took out a notepad from her back pocket and a pencil from her jacket and waited.

A tall dark haired woman answered. "May I help you?" she asked.

Something about her made Buffy hesitate in answering. "Hailey Collins?" Dean asked instead. "I'm Dean. This is my partner, Sam, and our trainee Anne. Ranger Wilkinson sent us over to ask a few questions about Tommy."

"Let me see some ID," Hailey requested. Dean held his up to the screen, hoping one was enough to get them all through the door.

She examined it carefully, and Dean smirked. A lot of plain people asked to see their ID, but almost none of them knew what to look for. He knew, having seen many from the ones he stole over the years, and he kept all of his up to date.

"Come on in," Hailey finally said. She was about to follow when she caught sight of the Impala. "That yours?"

"Yeah," Dean's smile was genuine this time.

"Nice car," Hailey said, giving Dean a once over.

"Thanks," Dean said, returning the leering look. Buffy hit him on the back of the head as the four of them entered the house. Dean gave her a 'What?' look, which Buffy responded to with a hard glare and a shake of her head.

"So, if Tommy's not due back for a while, how do you know something's wrong?" Sam asked, ignoring his siblings, and drawing Hailey's attention from Dean.

"He checks in every day by cell. Sometimes a quick call, at other's a short little video. We haven't heard from him in a week. Something's wrong," Hailey said, setting a salad and a pasta dish on the table.

"Did you think about whether or not he could get reception?" Sam asked.

"We were worried about that before he left, so we got him a satellite phone as well," Hailey replied. "This is my other brother, Ben." She gestured to the young teen seated at the table.

"Could he have forgotten?" Buffy asked, bringing herself back into the conversation.

"He wouldn't do that!" Ben insisted, glaring at Buffy for even suggesting it.

"I meant no disrespect," Buffy apologized.

"It's just my two brothers and me. Our parents died, so we keep close tabs on each other. We're all we have left," Hailey said.

"I know the feeling," Buffy replied, without thinking. Dean and Sam gave her a confused look.

"You said Tommy sent you videos and things? May I see them?" Sam asked.

"Sure." Hailey showed them to a laptop in the corner of he dining room. "This is the last one we got." She clicked on a picture and another window popped up. One more click and the short movie started to play.

Tommy was sitting in a tent, a lantern in the background, casting Tommy in partial shadow. "Hey guys. It's Day Six, and we're still out by Blackwater Ridge. We're fine, so don't worry. I'll call tomorrow."

Buffy frowned and glanced quickly at Sam and Dean. Sam had a matching frown on his face, but Dean had missed it.

"We're planning on going to Blackwater Ridge tomorrow morning," Dean told her. "If we find anything, we'll let you know."

"No you won't. I can't just sit around anymore, so I hired a guide. Ben and I are going up there tomorrow to look for him ourselves," Hailey said.

"I think I know how you feel," Dean said, shooting a meaningful look at his brother and sister.

"Do you mine emailing these to me?" Sam asked.

"Sure," Hailey said.

"One more thing before we go," Buffy said. "He was up there with friends, right? What do their families think happened?"

"They're not worried yet, but no one else called home every night," Hailey answered. "They told me that I'm making a mountain out of a molehill."

"Thank you for your time," Buffy said, and led the way out.

SPN/BtVS: Wendigo

Dean turned to face Buffy as soon as they were in the car. "What do you mean you know what she's going through? You still have Dad, you've got us."

"I don't know, alright?" Buffy pleaded. "I got this feeling, like I knew what it was like to take care of a young teen without any help."

Dean's eyes widened in realization. "More nightmares? More people you know but don't?"

Buffy inhaled deeply. "Yeah. That girl back there reminded me, physically, of another girl, but I don't remember her name. I don't know what's wrong with me."

Dean reached across the bench seat and pulled Buffy to him. "We'll figure it out, trust me. Write it down and we'll deal with it."

Buffy nodded against Dean's chest before gently pushing away. "We're on a job. My issues can wait. Let's sally fourth."

Dean laughed and started the engine.

SPN/BtVS: Wendigo

After a trip to the local library, the three stopped in a bar. Buffy took a long sip of her tea. "Got anything?"

"I got a whole lot," Sam answered, pulling out old newspaper articles out of his bag. "Blackwater Ridge doesn't get a lot of traffic, local campers, mostly, but in April two hikers went missing and were never found." He handed Buffy the related article.

"Any more?" Dean asked, reading over Buffy's shoulder.

"Yeah. Eight people vanished in '82, supposed grizzly attack. Two more with the same story, one in '59 and another in '36," Sam continued.

"Every twenty three years," Buffy mused.

"Exactly. Now look at this," Sam said, excitedly, turning his laptop to face Buffy and Dean, who were sitting on the same side of the booth. "I downloaded Tommy's last video. Check this out."

Dean leaned closer to the computer as Sam pressed the 'play' button. Tommy's mouth moved slowly, but it was what was behind him that caught his eye.

"You saw it too?" Buffy asked.

"Play it again," Dean ordered.

Sam obliged. "That's three frames, barely a second. Whatever that thing is, it can move."

Dean grinned and punched Sam lightly in the shoulder. "Told you something was going on here!"

"Congratulations," Sam said, sarcastically. "There is one more thing, though. In '59 there was one survivor. Crawled out of the woods barely alive. The guy was only a kid."

"There a name?" Dean asked.

SPN/BtVS: Wendigo

Twenty minutes later, the three of them were standing in the living room of one Daniel Shaw. He was a tired looking man with shaggy grey hair and a cigarette dangling from his lip. There was a flash of a different man in a long leather jacket with platinum blonde hair. He was smirking at her around the cigarette in his mouth. Buffy shook her head and barely caught what Shaw had said. "Look, Rangers, I don't know why you're askin' me about this. It's public record. My parents got mauled by. . ."

"A grizzly?" Sam finished. "That's what attacked them?

"Yeah," Shaw hesitated.

"Other people went missing that year too. Those bear attacks too? The people that disappeared this year? More bear attacks? If we knew what we were dealing with, we might be able to stop it," Dean said.

"I seriously doubt that," Shaw scoffed. "I don't see how it could make a difference. You won't believe me. No one does."

"Please, Mr Shaw. Give us a chance. We'll believe you. Please tell us what you saw," Buffy requested in a calming voice, grabbing his hand in a light grip.

"I didn't see anything. It was too dark," Shaw began, speaking directly to Buffy.

"It came at night?" Sam asked, pulling a nod from Shaw.

"It got into our cabin. I was in front of the fireplace when it came in. It didn't break anything, it unlocked the front door. Do you know of a bear that could do that?" Shaw continued. "I didn't even know it was there until I heard my parents screaming."

"It killed them?" Buffy asked.

"Dragged them through the door, screaming," Shaw confirmed. "I don't know why it didn't kill me. Did leave me a present though." He undid the top three buttons on his shirt and pulled away the left side. Three parallel scars appeared along his collar bone.

SPN/BtVS: Wendigo

"Well, that narrows down the list," Buffy said as they left Shaw's apartment building.

"Yeah, spirits don't have to open a door, and demons wouldn't leave anyone behind," Dean said.

"So it's probably something else. Something corporeal," Sam concluded.

"Corporeal, huh?" Buffy teased.

"Excuse us, professor," Dean laughed.

"Shut up. Theories?" Sam asked.

"A creature with deadly claws, super speed, could be a black dog or a skin walker," Dean suggested.

"I'm thinking of something that's restricted to forest land," Buffy said. "Black dogs are usually found in areas with crossroads, prisons, and ancient pathways. Blackwater's in the middle of nowhere, Sam didn't mention anything about an old Native American roadway, and there haven't been any electrical storms. A skin walker is more likely, but it's not a perfect fit."

"Whatever it is, we can't let Hailey go out there tomorrow," Sam said.

"What are we going to tell her? We just went on a trip to rescue our sister. She's going to do no different to get her brother," Dean argued. "She's not going to sit this one out. We have to go and protect her, while keeping an eye out for our predator pal."

SPN/BtVS: Wendigo

Even at eight in the morning, the sun was bright as Dean pulled into the visitor's center of Lost Creek along side a pickup truck. Buffy, Sam and Dean spilled out of the car, and walked over to the other group of three, standing at the head of the trail to Blackwater.

"Got room for three more?" Dean asked.

Hailey turned from her argument with the guide she hired and faced the newcomers, eyeing Sam and Dean's jeans and biker boots. Sam carried a duffel bag over one shoulder. Buffy had tossed her usual jeans and biker boots for kaki shorts and hiking boots. Buffy was the last to approach the group, strapping knapsack to her back. "You want to come with us?" Hailey asked.

"Who are they?" the guide demanded.

"This is all the park service could round up. Guys, this is Roy." Hailey said, and quickly introduced the newcomers.

"You rangers?" Roy asked skeptically.

"Yep!" Dean said.

"And you're hiking in biker boots and jeans? At least Anne has some sense," Hailey scoffed.

"Hey, I don't do shorts," Dean said, following Roy and Ben. Hailey shook her head and followed, Sam and Buffy at the end.

SPN/BtVS: Wendigo

Several hours later Dean was bored. They were about half way up the hill and Dean decided to talk to see how well prepared Roy was. "Roy, you said that you did a little hunting?"

"Yeah. More than a little," Roy agreed

"What kinda critters did you go after?" Dean asked, moving to walk beside Roy.

"Bear, sometimes buck," Roy confirmed.

"Tell me, did they ever hunt you back?" Dean asked. Roy stopped walking and glared at Dean, grabbing him by the collar. Buffy and Sam fell into a defensive stance, ready to take the man down. Hailey and Ben watched in surprise.

"Whacha doin', Roy?" Dean demanded.

Roy smirked and thrust his walking stick into the ground in front of Dean, pulling it up in time to keep it from getting caught in the hidden trap. "Watch your step, Ranger," Roy taunted and continued on.

Dean gave a nervous chuckle, trying to save face. Sam scowled and followed Roy. Ben passed by next, not paying any attention to Dean. Buffy, however glared at Dean before hitting him upside the head. "That was stupid," she declared, eyes narrowed, before following Sam and Ben.

Hailey was next, eyeing Dean's outfit yet again. "You barely packed provisions. You're carrying a duffel bag and a knapsack. You're not rangers, so who the hell are you?" she demanded, arms crossed.

"Sam's my brother, and Buffy's my sister. We're looking for our father, and he may or may not be up here," Dean admitted.

"Why didn't you tell me that from the beginning?" she asked.

"I'm telling you now," Dean said. "Besides this is the most honest I've ever been with a woman who's not Buffy. . . ever."

SPN/BtVS: Wendigo

A few hours later, Roy stopped and checked his GPS. "Welcome to Blackwater Ridge," he said.

"What are our co-ordinates?" Buffy asked, walking up to Roy.

"35-111," he replied, showing her the display.

Dean glared at Roy, noticing the way he kept looking at Buffy.

"Do you hear that?" Sam asked, stepping away from the group slightly.

"Yeah, not even crickets," Buffy agreed. "Something's up here, and whatever it is won't let us go without a fight."

"I'm going to take a look around," Roy announced.

"You shouldn't go off by yourself," Sam warned.

"Aw, that's sweet," Roy taunted. "Don't worry about me."

The six of them started walking away from the clearing. Buffy found a big rock with a primitive painting on it. "Sam! Dean!" she called.

The two in question appeared faster than she anticipated. "You find something?" Dean asked.

"Yeah. I think I know what we're up against," she said, pointing to the drawing.

"Is that what I think it is?" Sam asked, crouching down to get a closer look.

"If it is, we've got a bigger problem," Buffy tilted her head at Hailey and Ben, who were working their way over. "We've got to get them out of here."

"Hailey, over here!" Roy called. Hailey, with the other four on her heels, ran into the clearing Roy had found.

The two tents had been ripped into shreds, poles standing up like skeletons. Camping supplies had been torn and scattered all over the place. "Oh god!" Hailey breathed. Blood was everywhere.

"Looks like a grizzly," Roy guessed, all cockiness gone from his tone.

"Tommy!" Hailey shouted, dropping her bag on the ground. "Tommy!"

"Be quiet," Sam said, grabbing Hailey's shoulder.

"Why?" she asked.

"Because whatever did this is still out there," Buffy answered.

They started to spread out, all but Buffy leaving their gear in the middle of the site. Dean took the perimeter, and the others searched the tents.

"Buffy! Sammy!" Dean called after a few minutes. They walked over to Dean. "See these tracks? They were dragged from the campsite."

"If we're right, we're next on the menu. It'll come back here," Buffy said.

She turned to walk back to the site and saw Hailey close to tears, holding a broken cell phone. "He's going to be alright, I promise," Buffy said, kneeling down and touching Hailey's arm.

"Don't make promises you can't keep," the other girl hissed.

A sudden cry tore through the air. "Help! Help!"

All six of them tore off into the woods. The clearing they stopped in was devoid of other people and they all spun in circles, trying to see anything. "It sounded as if it were coming from here, didn't it?" Hailey asked.

Realization dawned. "Get back to camp," Sam ordered, spinning around and leading the group back.

"Goddamn it!" Dean shouted.

"Our packs are gone!" Hailey exclaimed.

"So much for my GPS and satellite phone," Roy grumbled.

"It's smart. It wants us cut off so we can't get help, and it can get more . . ." Sam began.

"You mean some nut job stole all our gear?" Roy shouted.

"I need to talk to you two, right now," Sam demanded.

Buffy and Dean followed Sam a short distance away. "This confirms our theory."

"I still don't buy it completely," Dean denied.

"Use your head, idiot. The way it mimics a human voice, the symbol on the rock, it all adds up," Buffy explained.

"Well, then this is useless," Dean grumbled, pulling a gun from his waistband and giving it a light wave.

Buffy grinned as Dean put it away. "You might not have proper weapons, but I do," she said as she took off he pack. At Dean and Sam's stares of surprise Buffy added, "I didn't take it off, and I knew Dean wasn't convinced."

"Yeah, yeah, just show us what you've got," Dean growled.

Buffy handed each of her brothers a flare gun, a small bottle of nail polish remover and a pack of matches. "It's not ideal, but it's acetone, and that burns. Flare guns are a better bet, but I don't have extra flares, so be careful when you shoot." Buffy then produced energy bars, and handed Dean several. "And just because I know and love you."

Dean smiled and gave her a tight, one armed hug. Buffy laughed before handing Sam a few bars. "You're awesome!" Dean grinned.

"Yeah, yeah."

"We've got to get these people to safety," Sam said, taking what Buffy handed him, trying to drive his anger away and walking back to the others.

"It's time to go. Things have gotten more complicated," Sam announced.

"What?" Hailey demanded, barely noticing the energy bar that Buffy pressed into her hand.

"Don't worry, kid. Whatever's out there, I think I can handle," Roy boasted, catching the bar that Buffy tossed his way. Buffy tossed one to Ben next, who caught it.

"It's not me I'm worried about. If you shoot bullets at it, you're just going to make it mad. We have to leave now," Sam insisted.

"One, you don't know what you're talking about," Roy countered, "Two, you're in no position to give anyone orders!"

Sam moved as if to attack the man, but Dean grabbed his shoulder. "Relax, man."

"We should never have come here! I'm trying to protect you!" Sam shouted.

"Protect me?" Roy scoffed. "I was hunting in these woods while your mommy was still kissing you goodnight!"

"Yeah?" Sam asked, voice cold. "It's a damn near perfect hunter. And it's going to hunt you down and eat you alive because you're too stupid to get your ass out of here!"

"You know you're crazy, right?" Roy laughed.

"You ever hunt a wen. . ." Sam demanded but stopped in mid word when a fist was caught before it hit him.

Roy blinked and followed the hand holding his fist with an iron grip and was surprised to see Buffy. "You even come near hitting my brother again, and I'll tear you apart," she hissed, emerald eyes stone cold and burning with anger. She tossed him and his wrist away from Sam, where he landed on his ass.

"Roy!" Hailey shouted. "Now's not the time."

"Sam, you need to relax," Buffy said. "Take a deep breath."

Dean watched as Buffy led Sam to a log to sit down, then turned back to Hailey. "This thing is a good hunter in the day, but an unbelievable hunter at night. If we're going to beat it, we need to settle down and work together to protect ourselves."

Hailey only had one question. "How?"

SPN/BtVS: Wendigo

Two hours later the sun had almost finished setting. Buffy had a fire going and Dean was walking the perimeter, Hailey on his heels. "One more time. What are these for?"

Dean looked up from his drawing and inhaled deeply. This was becoming a very long day. "Anasazi protection symbols. The wendigo can't cross them."

Roy laughed, glaring at Dean, for once. "No one likes a skeptic, Roy," Dean called, as he finished his last symbol. He walked over to Buffy and Sam, who were sitting beside the fire.

Buffy looked up at him and gently shook her head. Sam might open up more to Buffy, but that didn't mean that he told her everything. Dean sighed and asked a different question than the one he had planned. "You got anything else but energy bars in there?"

"Not much," Buffy admitted. She pulled out mushed sandwiches and bottles of water and tossed one of each to Dean and Sam. "I suggest we wait until tomorrow to get the rest out. Dean, share with Roy, Sam, share with Ben. I'll share with Hailey."

Dean sighed, but did as he was asked, ignoring the sneer Roy had to offer him.

Darkness came quickly, and the group split into two. Roy, Hailey and Ben stayed near the fire and Buffy and Dean joined Sam in the shadows.

"Out with it, Sam. What's eating you?" Dean demanded, sitting down in front of his brother.

"Dean," Sam started, but Buffy interrupted him.

"Sam, you're not fine. You're a time bomb with a ticking clock. Dean's supposed to be the hard ass, remember?" Buffy asked.

"Dad's not here, alright? He never was. We would've found something, a sign, right?" Sam implored.

Dean glanced at Buffy before returning his attention back at Sam. "I don't think Dad's ever been to Lost Creek."

Sam picked up a handful of rocks. "Then let's get these people out of here and go find Dad. What are we still doing here?" He threw the rocks back on the ground with force and failed to keep the petulant tone out of his voice.

Dean and Buffy exchanged knowing looks. This was far from Sam's first fit when it came to their father and it wouldn't be the last.

Dean pulled out their father's journal, their bible to everything in their supernatural world. He held it out to Sam. "This. This right here. This book is Dad's most treasured possession. Everything he knows about every evil thing is in here. He passed it on to us. It's up to us now to pick up where he left off. Saving people. Hunting things. The family business."

"That makes no sense. Why doesn't he call, tell us what he wants, where he is?" Sam asked.

"Because Dad doesn't operate that way, Sammy boy," Buffy said softly. "He's not just the man who gives us orders. He's our father, and he's got a skewed world view that prevents him from wanting to place us in the way of something he thinks we can't handle, but he can."

"He's given us a job by sending us here, Sam, and I intend to do it," Dean added.

Tears were slowly making their way down Sam's face. "I can't do that, Buffy. I got to find Dad. I've got to find Jessica's killer."

"There's no reason we can't do both," Buffy reasoned, "But what you're asking's going to take a while. You've got to find a healthy release for your anger. You can't keep it inside you. It'll kill you."

"How do you do it?" Sam asked.

"Well, them for one," Dean answered, pointing to Hailey and Ben. "Our family's already been screwed to hell by some fugly. Stopping that from happening to another makes everything a little easier."

"I do it so I won't kill you or Dean in frustration," Buffy joked, before turning serious. "For me it's been an urge to destroy anything unnatural. Like it's a calling, You've got to find your own coping mechanism."

"Killing every son of a bitch helps too," Dean grinned.

Sam gave a half-hearted smile, eyes shining through the tears.

A cry from the woods caused the Winchesters to rejoin the rest of the group. "Help! Help me!"

"That's no grizzly," Roy conceded, raising the high powered rifle he hadn't let go of since that morning.

"It's here," Sam told them.

Hailey grabbed onto Ben, pulling him close. "It's okay. You'll be alright. I promise."

There was a rustling in the trees in front of them. Roy squeezed off four rounds, stopping when a howl of pain was released. "I hit it!" he cried, taking off to find the creature.

"Roy!" all three Winchesters shouted.

"Damnit, Roy!" Dean shouted as he and Sam took off after Roy.

"You see him?" Sam asked.

"Roy!" Dean shouted, trying to locate the man in the woods.

"It's over here! In the trees!" Roy shouted. His voice was quickly followed by a sickening crack which echoed though the woods.

"Son of a bitch!" Dean shouted in frustration. He and Sam quickly found their way back to the campsite.

"Dead?" Buffy asked. Dean nodded.

"We need to sleep if we're getting this thing in the morning. Should we set a watch?" Dean asked.

"I don't think we'll need one. The symbols have held up, and I don't think it will come back tonight," Buffy said. She walked over to her bag, which was beside the fire, and pulled out two canvas tarps and three blankets.

"You two can sleep on this, and use this to cover up," Buffy said, offering one of each to Hailey. "Unless you want to scavenge the tents?"

"Thank you," Hailey said, taking the tarp and blanket.

Buffy just smiled before turning to Sam and Dean. "I gave them the smaller tarp, so all three of us should fit on this, but you two are sharing a blanket this time. You're a good four inches taller than me, and Sammy's got four on you." Dean and Sam were so used to sharing a sleeping place that there was little argument. Fifteen minutes later, all five were settling down to sleep.

SPN/BtVS: Wendigo

They were all up early the next morning. Buffy stretched and pulled out more energy bars and three more bottles of water, dividing them up as best she could.

"You obviously know what's going on," Hailey commented while she ate her breakfast. "so why don't you fill in the rest of us."

"Fair enough. You're already as deeply involved as the rest of us," Buffy agreed. "The creature out there is called a wendigo."

"It's a Native American word meaning 'evil that devours',"Sam continued. "Each is hundreds of years old and was once human. Sometimes a Native, at others, a miner, or a hunter."

"How do you turn into one of those things?" Hailey exclaimed, disgusted.

"It's always the same story," Dean explained. "During some harsh winter, each found themselves cut off from supplies or help. They became cannibals to survive, eating members of their camp or tribe."

"The Donnor Party," Ben suggested.

"Yeah," Buffy confirmed. "Cultures all over the world have superstitions about what happens when a man eats human flesh. Most say that you gain certain abilities, like strength, speed, and immortality."

"And if you eat enough of it, you change into one of those?" Ben asked.

"Yes. They're always hungry, always looking for food," Sam confirmed.

"If that's true, how can Tommy still be alive?" Hailey demanded.

"Oh, oh god," Ben gasped in horror. "You're not serious!"

Buffy wished she could tell him different. "Above anything else, they know how to go long periods of time without food. They hibernate for years at a time, but when they're awake, they keep their victims alive, so they can feed whenever they want."

"If you're brother's still alive, he's being kept somewhere dark and hidden. The mines are our likeliest bet. We've got to track it to the right one," Dean said.

"How the hell do you know about all this stuff?" Ben asked.

"Let's just say it runs in the family, and leave it at that," Dean said.

"Do we have a plan?" Hailey asked.

"If we're going to go after this, it's best to go in the daylight, when we actually have a chance," Sam said. "And I for one want to kill this evil son of a bitch!"

"You know I'm in!" Dean grinned.

"So, we're going after it," Hailey agreed, "Just one question. How do we kill it?"

"There's only one thing that kills them," Dean declared, holding up a bottle of nail polish remover with a cloth sticking out the neck. "We've got to torch the sucker."

"Let's get packed up and then we'll head out," Buffy said, folding up the sleeping gear.

SPN/BtVS: Wendigo

They were on their way within twenty minutes, Dean leading the way, Sam in the middle, and Buffy taking up the rear, each Collins between a Winchester.

"Dean," Sam called, pointing to a tree.

Dean examined the mark Sam found. Three parallel marks tinged with red were in the bark of the nearest tree. "Nice," Dean commented, looking around and finding another mark on a tree farther up the hill.

They followed the marks for an hour before Sam called for Dean again. "What?" Dean asked.

"Look around," Sam suggested. Dean took in a deep breath and looked around. They were in a clearing where every tree had the marks on them. "I was thinking that those claw prints were too clear and distinct!"

"Led into a trap, just like Balto," Ben muttered. "The Disney movie," he clarified in reply to his sister's look.

Howls sounded from around them. Buffy grabbed Ben and Hailey's arm pulling them gently against a tree as Dean and Sam raised their makeshift firebombs.

Hailey felt a wetness on her shoulder. She glanced at it them up at the tree. She screamed and dived out of the way as a body fell out of the tree, missing her and Ben, but landing on Buffy.

Sam ran to check on Hailey, while Dean went to Buffy. "You alright?" he asked her, pulling what he now saw was Roy, off of Buffy.

"I'm peachy keen," Buffy grumbled.

"His neck's broken," Dean stated, after a very brief examination. "We've got to get out of here. Run, run run! Go, go go!"

The five of them took off, dodging when whey heard howls close by. Ben fell down five minutes in, unintentionally causing the group to break up. Sam and Dean grabbed one arm each and pulled Ben to his feet as Buffy and Hailey ran around the opposite side of the tree and out of sight. There was a high pitched scream that could only have come from Hailey, then dead silence.

"Hailey!" Ben screamed.

"Buffy!" Dean shouted.

Ben bent over, breathing deeply. "If it keeps its victims alive, why would it kill Roy?"

"He shot at it, pissed it off," Dean guessed, tone harsh. "Wouldn't you be?"

"Dean," Sam chastised.

"What, Sam! We just got her back!" Dean vented.

"And we'll do so again. If I know Buffy, she's well on the way to helping herself," Sam reasoned.

"I know," Dean muttered dejectedly, reaching into his jacket pocket for something. "Damn sneak took my candy!"

"You mean this candy?" Ben asked, holding up a green M&M, tiny smirk on his young face.

SPN/BtVS: Wendigo

Buffy blinked, slowly drawing the fog away from her eyes. This was the part of the job she hated. Just because she was female, people and critters went after her far more often than they did the boys. She quickly took in her surroundings and sighed. The wendigo had gotten her, but where was Hailey?

She looked up, tugging on the rope holding her to the roof of the abandoned mine. She closed her eyes and tried to find the wendigo. Her senses told her it wasn't in the immediate area, so she raised up on her toes and pulled her arms down in a sharp jab.

Dirt and the rest of the rope she had been tied up with rained down on her. She loosened the knot enough to get her hands free and took stock of her surroundings.

She was in one of the mines in the hillside, but this one looked like it had served as a lair for the wendigo for much longer. If she were to guess, she'd assume that this particular creature had once worked in the mines. That revelation didn't work in her favor. Either way the creature knew the tunnels better than she did.

Buffy patted herself down and found that her personal arsenal of knives, iron rods, wooden stakes, and protection amulets were still where they were supposed to be. Quietly she slipped into one of the tunnels and began to look for the others.

SPN/BtVS: Wendigo

Dean, Sam, and Ben reached an abandoned mine entrance after a long hike, ignoring the warning signs. They were about twenty feet into the mine when they heard a growl. The wendigo was close enough and moving slowly enough for them to be able to see it. It was tall and almost completely hairless, wearing only a loincloth. There were only three ways it could go from where it was, and one was the exit where they were.

Dean and Sam shrunk against the wall, Sam pulling Ben. Ben opened his mouth to scream. "Shhh," a voice whispered in his ear as a hand covered his mouth.

The wendigo growled again, making it's choice and disappearing down a tunnel leading away from them.

"Took you guys long enough," the voice whispered as the hand disappeared from Ben's mouth, speaking to Sam and Dean, who jumped when they heard the voice.

"Buffy!" Dean cried, before punching her in the arm. "Stop doing that!"

"No promises," Buffy replied.

"Do you know where Hailey is?" Ben asked.

"She wasn't in the same room as I was, but I'm betting she's close," Buffy answered. "Let's go."

They hadn't gone more than three feet when the floor under Buffy, who had taken point, fell from beneath her. She fell on her back and used her momentum to roll onto her feet.

She took a quick look around. This room was the more active kitchen. Human skeletons littered the floor and hanging from the rafters a few feet away was Hailey and a boy.

"Buffy! You okay?" Sam called.

"I found Hailey. Get down here, but be careful where you land," she called back.

She turned and pulled out a knife and began to cut Hailey down, ignoring the impacts behind her and the soft grunts as the three boys jumped down. Dean was first and caught Hailey just before she hit the ground when Buffy cut through the rope and sat her down gently.

"Hailey?" Ben called, shaking her.

"I'm okay," Hailey groaned, grabbing her head. She rubbed her eyes, then looked around the room, eyes locking onto the one remaining person tied up. "Tommy?"

She stood up, with the help of Ben and hobbled over to him. "Tommy?" she sobbed.

The boy raised his head, inhaling sharply, startling a short scream out of Hailey. "Cut him down," she demanded. Dean and Sam walked over and they gently got him down.

"You two still have your flare guns?" Buffy asked, rummaging through the bags she found in the corner.

"Yeah," Dean and Sam confirmed. Buffy smiled to herself. Sometimes she wondered how it was her and not Sam that was Dean's twin. Her brothers were very in sync.

"Let's go and wear out our welcome," Buffy said, repacking the duffel and throwing it back to Sam. There were no objections, not that she expected any, and Buffy took point. There was a shuddering howl from the depths of the mine. Tommy cringed and Buffy sighed. "I think my absence has been noted. Come on, let's go."

Buffy led them carefully around the mine. "Damn," she whispered ten minutes later. The wendigo had caught up with them.

"Looks like someone's ready for supper," Dean commented.

"We'll never outrun it," Hailey said, holding Tommy closer to her side as she supported him.

"You two thinking what I'm thinking?" Buffy asked.

"I think so," Sam said.

"Alright, listen to me. Buffy's going to get you out of here. She's had enough time to explore the mines and get a lay of the land. She'll get you out of here," Dean ordered.

"What about you two?" Hailey asked.

"Don't worry about us," Dean grinned before taking a side tunnel. "Chow time, you freaky bastard! Come and get it baby! I taste good!"

Sam took off down straight ahead of them shouting as well as Buffy led the group to the left and closer to the surface.

Their rouse seemed to work for a little bit, before the wendigo got bored and changed tactics. It growled again, this time in the same tunnel Buffy, Hailey, Ben and Tommy were in, about fifty feet behind them.

"The exit's ten feet in front of us. Get out of here," Buffy ordered, pulling out her own flare gun and taking aim.

The wendigo rushed at her, coming closer faster than she expected, causing her to miss her shot. It swiped at her head and Buffy managed to duck, then kick it in the stomach, giving her a little room.

The wendigo roared in anger, but was distracted before it could do anything else.

"Hey!" Dean shouted. It looked at him, pausing just long enough for Dean to shoot it with his flare gun. A second flare, shot by Sam, hit it right after the first. The wendigo roared in pain before shrinking to the ground and disintegrating into ashes.

SPN/BtVS: Wendigo

The trip back was long and tiring, but they made it without any complications. The rangers on duty quickly called 911, and police and ambulances were there in record time. The police took statements and the paramedics treated everyone, focusing on Tommy and Buffy, who had cuts and bruises along her face, neck, and arms.

Hailey approached Dean with a hesitant smile on her face. "I don't know how to thank you, any of you."

Dean just grinned, but Buffy jabbed him in the arm. "Don't even think about it!" she warned.

"I hope you find your father," Hailey said before turning to join Tommy and Ben in the ambulance.

"Why do you do that?" Dean whined.

"You know the rule: no sex with a client," Buffy said. "You, yourself made that one up ten years ago."

"That's because that guy was twice your age!" Dean exclaimed.

"He was not!" Buffy argued. "I met him at a bar!"

"Which isn't the best place to meet people," Dean deflected.

"Then why do you do it?" Buffy asked.

"You think we're going to find Dad soon?" Sam asked, interrupting the circular argument.

"Yeah, Sammy boy, we'll find him," Buffy said.

"But in the meantime, I'm driving," Sam declared, giving Dean a challenging look. Dean grinned and tossed him the keys before getting in the back seat. Buffy and Sam piled into the Impala and they took off to find a hotel.

SPN/BtVS: Wendigo

"She's remembering," the first reported.

"She's been remembering for the past two years, how does that make anything different?" the fifth asked.

"This time, her memories are specific. This time it was Angel, Spike and Faith," the first explained.

"Anything's a good sign, right?" the third asked.

"At this point in time, yes," the fourth answered. "As she remembers more, that answer will depend on the memory. Where was she last?"

"Lost Creek, Colorado. She worked with a cousin of mine," the second answered. "Hailey IDed her after seeing a picture."

"Let's keep an eye on her, but don't approach her. She's not ready," the fourth said.


	3. Phantom Traveler

Please review and let me know of you're enjoying this.

SPN/BtVS: Phantom Traveler

It took a week and two bottles each of shampoo and conditioner for Buffy to get the woods out of her hair. At least that's what she claimed. Dean and Sam took her mild complaints in stride, not letting it bother them. Dean was happy to have something remotely normal restored to their recently reunited family. Sam was slowly adjusting back to being on the road again, and Buffy kept them both focused on the little things and kept Sam from over thinking.

The three had found a job in Wisconsin three days after leaving Colorado, and it had taken a lot out of Dean. Lucas had reminded Dean of his own lost childhood, and Buffy had been pulled along for the ride. She and Dean had been four when their mother died, and even though they hadn't been in the room when their mother burned, it still left a gaping wound.

Lucas had gone through something just as bad, maybe even worse since he had been present when his father died, and the older two Winchesters felt for the boy. Andrea had been willing, after several encounters, to hear them out. In the end Andrea lost her father to the ghost of a boy he had accidentally killed as a kid, and Lucas turned back into the happy, outgoing boy that he had been before he had lost his father, but Buffy and Dean knew better.

Living without a parent was never easy, but at least the boy had the support of his mother. Buffy and Dean had essentially lost both parents the night of the fire, and had the care of a young child placed on their shoulders. Sam had the attention of both his older siblings, and he turned out alright.

SPN/BtVS: Phantom Traveler

Buffy's eyes snapped open when she heard the door open. She felt Dean tighten his grip on her before easing up. She slid her hand under her pillow and lightly gripped the knife she kept under there, knowing that Dean was doing the same.

The door slammed shut and the smell of coffee assaulted their noses. "Mornin' sunshine, sundance," Sam greeted. "Anything you want to tell me?"

Buffy and Dean turned to their backs and rubbed their eyes with one hand, not noticing that they were doing it at the same time.

"Like what?" Buffy yawned.

"Like why you two are curled around each other and I feel as if I've walked in on my parents," Sam clarified, handing Buffy a coffee.

"Habit," Dean barked, holding out a hand for his own coffee. Sam handed it to him. "What time is it?"

"About 5:45," Sam grinned, taking a sip of his own coffee.

"In the morning?" Buffy whined.

"Where does the day go?" Dean asked, drinking some of his own coffee. "You get any sleep?"

"A few hours," Sam said, evasively.

"Liar," Buffy accused. "When I got back from patrol at three, you were still up, watching the George Foreman infomercial."

"What can I say? It's riveting TV," Sam defended, taking out a donut from the paper bag he had placed on the middle table and tossing the bag to Buffy.

"You get jelly?" Buffy asked.

"I got three, all for you," Sam answered.

"When was the last time you got a decent night's sleep?" Dean asked, reaching into the bag and grabbing a donut at random.

"I don't know, a while I guess. It's not a big deal," Sam brushed off.

"Yeah, it is, Sam," Buffy chastised.

"Thanks for the concern, guys, but. . ." Sam began.

"We're not concerned," Dean denied, "it's your job to keep our asses alive, so we need you sharp."

"Are you still having nightmares?" Buffy asked, reaching for another jelly donut.

"Yeah, but it's not just that. It's everything. I just forgot how much this job gets to you," Sam lamented.

"Sam, I've been getting nightmares too, on and off for the past two years I've been getting them. After Jess, they started becoming focused on one particular event," Buffy began. "A tall, dark, and handsome man I was involved with turned on me. I don't remember why. But in the end, I was torn away from my family and friends. It was just me and him, and he was trying his best to kill me. We were sword fighting and I had just beaten him back and poised to deliver the final blow when something happened."

Buffy took in a deep breath. Dean, who had heard this already, was rubbing her back subtly in silent comfort. "He began seizing and his eyes shined. He started asking what was going on and saying that he didn't remember. I think he was possessed. Anyway, while he was possessed, he had done something that was going to end the world. I kissed him, told him I loved him, then stabbed him. It was him or the world, and I chose the world, killing the person I loved most. I was broken, just as you are. No matter what you think, you did not kill her. Not like I killed him," Buffy finished.

Sam didn't know what to say. "I'm sorry," he said, finally.

"I didn't tell you to feel bad for me," Buffy replied. "I told you so you knew that you knew that you're not the only one that the job gets to. The trick is not to let it. I haven't had a nightmare in about a week."

"You can't bring it home like that," Dean added. Sam smiled to himself. Dean hated 'chick flick' moments.

"So, what? You're never afraid? None of this keeps you up a night?" Sam scoffed.

"No, not really," Dean answered. Sam stood up and lifted up Dean's pillow, revealing a bowie knife. "That's not fear, that's precaution."

Before Sam could reply, Dean's phone rang. Buffy handed it to him silently before getting up and walking into the bathroom.

"Yeah?" Dean answered.

SPN/BtVS: Phantom Traveler

An hour later they were on their way to Kittanning, Pennsylvania. Jerry Panowski, a man Buffy and Dean had helped out a few years back needed help with something new. They made the trip fairly fast, two days, and had found the airport with little trouble.

Jerry was standing outside waiting when they pulled up. Jerry was about 5'10'', not much taller than Buffy, but still shorter than Sam and Dean, balding, with short dark hair. He was dressed in business casual, name tag hanging around his neck.

"Thanks for making the trip so quick. I ought to be doing you a favor, not the other way around. Dean, Buffy and your Dad really helped me out," Jerry greeted, leading the three through the doors and onto the hanger floor, Sam on his right, Buffy and Dean to his left.

"Yeah, they told me. Poltergeist, wasn't it?" Sam asked.

"Damn right it was a poltergeist. Practically tore the house apart," Jerry confirmed. He turned his head to the left. "If it weren't for your family, I'd be dead." He tilted his head to Sam. "Your Dad said you were off at college. That right?"

"Yeah. I . . . uh, I'm taking some time off," Sam hesitated.

"He was real proud of you, son. Talked about you all the time."

"Really?" Sam asked, awed.

"Yeah. He glowed when talking about you. Where is he, anyway? I tried to get ahold of him, but couldn't," Jerry asked.

"He's wrapped up in a job outside of Louisville," Buffy said.

"Well, we're missing the old man, but we get Sam instead, even trade, huh?" Jerry laughed. Dean and Buffy joined him.

"No not by a long shot," Sam corrected, a small smile on his face.

"Step into my parlor, I've got something for you to hear," Jerry said as they reached his office.

They stepped in before Jerry, who entered pulling in an extra chair before sitting behind the desk, pulling a CD player from the center drawer. "When I listened to this, it sounded right up your alley. Normally, I wouldn't have access to the cockpit voice recorder, but this was one of ours. It's from United Britannia Flight 2485."

Jerry pressed the play button and out came muffled voices and static as the plane began to crash. A demonic hiss screeched for a few seconds before the CD stopped playing.

"The plane took off from here and crashed two hundred miles out. The NTSB is blaming the crash on mechanical failure. The cabin depressurized somehow and no one knows why. There were over a hundred people on board, and only seven survivors. The pilot, Chuck Lambert, was one. He's a friend of mine and he's pretty broken up about it, like it was his fault."

"You don't think it was," Buffy said, leaning forward in her seat.

"No," Jerry confirmed.

"We're going to need a few things," Sam said. "Passenger manifest, list of survivors."

"Yeah. Any way we can get a look at the wreckage?" Dean asked.

"The other two are no problem, but the wreckage? I don't have clearance. The NTSB has it locked up in an evidence warehouse," Jerry said.

Dean and Buffy exchanged looks. "No problem," Buffy grinned.

SPN/BtVS: Phantom Traveler

"What do you and Dean have planned?" Sam demanded as he and Buffy waited for Dean outside a print shop.

"Don't you worry," Buffy answered, sucking on a lollipop.

"No, I will worry. You two have an uncanny knack for getting into sticky situations," Sam argued.

"We have been hunting for the past two years," Buffy pointed out. "We know how to look out for ourselves, you know."

"How many times did Dad have to get you out when you were in too deep?" Sam demanded.

"A lot changes in two years, Sammy," Dean said, holding up three freshly made IDs.

"You were in there for a long time," Sam complained.

"You can't rush perfection," Dean grinned, handing Sam his.

"Homeland Security?" Sam asked. "That's pretty illegal, even for us."

"It's new, something people haven't seen a million times," Buffy defended.

"So, you get anything while I was in there?" Dean asked, opening the door and getting in the Impala the other two following.

"There's definitely EVP on the recorder," Sam said, pressing play on his open laptop.

Something hissed, "No survivors," through the speakers.

"That was creepy the first time, and gets creepier with reruns," Buffy commented.

Dean frowned. "'No survivors'? That makes no sense. There were seven survivors."

Sam shook his head. "I've got nothin'."

"Haunted flight?" Buffy suggested from the back seat.

"Like a phantom traveler?" Sam asked. "Remember Flight 401?"

"Yeah, it crashed and the spirits pilot and copilot took down the planes the airline put the recovered parts in," Buffy summarized.

"Maybe we've got a similar deal?" Dean asked.

"It's possible," Sam agreed.

"So, should we talk to someone or see the wreckage first?" Buffy asked.

"I say we go for the survivors, this one in particular, Max, Jaffey," Sam answered, pointing to the third name.

"Why him?" Dean asked.

"For starters, he's from around here, and if anyone saw anything, he did," Sam answered.

Dean stared the engine. "What makes you so sure?"

"Let me guess," Buffy said, "he checked himself into to a psych hospital."

"Bingo." Buffy groaned. She hated hospitals with a passion.

SPN/BtVS: Phantom Traveler

They found the guy without a problem but he was unwilling to talk. "I don't understand. I've already spoken to Homeland Security."

"We've received new evidence and we need to clarify a few things," Dean improvised.

"Just before the plane went down, did you notice anything unusual?" Buffy asked. "Strange sounds, flickering lights? Anything like that?"

"No, nothing," Max denied.

"You checked yourself in here. May I ask why?" Dean asked.

"I just survived a plane crash!" Max exclaimed. "I was a little stressed."

"Mr. Jaffey, we aren't your unusual investigators. We deal with things that most people don't believe in. Whatever you saw, or think you saw, we'll believe you," Buffy said in a soothing voice, taking Max's hand.

Max swallowed before speaking. "There was this man. He . . . he sat in the row in front of me. He. . . I thought . . . he had these eyes. Black eyes. And he. . ."

"He what?" Sam asked.

"He opened the emergency exit," Max said in a rush. "But that's impossible, right? I mean, I looked it up. There's several toms of pressure on the handle."

SPN/BtVS: Phantom Traveler

Buffy pulled out her laptop when they got back to the motel. "He's right. There's no way a human man would be able to open that door."

"Maybe they guy was something else, some kind of creature," Sam suggested.

"You two can go and talk to the guy's wife. I'm going to start researching. I might be able to come up with something," Buffy replied.

SPN/BtVS: Phantom Traveler

Fifteen minutes Sam and Dean pulled in front of George Phelps's house. "That look like the lair of an evil creature to you?" Dean asked as they got out.

"Where has judging by appearance gotten you?" Sam asked, standing by his theory.

Their conversation with Mrs. Phelps didn't reveal anything nearly that exciting. In fact the most interesting thing they found out about George Phelps was he was afraid to fly.

They quickly thanked the woman before taking their leave. "This doesn't make much sense!" Sam lamented.

Dean opened up the driver's side door and climbed in the Impala. "Yeah. A middle aged dentist hardly screams evil personified. We really need to get inside that warehouse."

"Should we pick up Buffy first?" Sam asked.

"Call her and ask her if she wants to come, otherwise I'd rather not," Dean answered, pulling away.

Sam did as he was asked and Buffy answered with a no. "If we're going to do break into the warehouse, we've got to look the part. I think I saw a good place on Main Street."

Dean took off, listening to Sam's directions.

SPN/BtVS: Phantom Traveler

Buffy crossed her arms and stared at the screen. There were, surprisingly, a lot of supernatural things that could take down a plane, but not many that had black eyes. Personally, Buffy was leaning toward a demon. She had found a good database that was reasonably reliable a few years ago called _Demons, Demons, Demons_ and it hadn't steered her wrong yet. It was more targeted at physical demons than the black cloud, possessing ones that she usually dealt with, but it had its fair share.

She had been searching through the internet since her brothers left two hours ago, and had come up with a small list of possible suspects when she got a phone call.

"Buffy," she answered.

"Hey, Buffy. It's Jerry. My pilot friend, Chuck died," Jerry said.

"Oh. Oh, I'm so sorry. What happened?" Buffy asked.

"He and a friend went up about an hour ago in a small plane. It went down about sixty miles from here," Jerry explained.

"Isn't that around Nazareth?" Buffy asked.

"Yeah."

"Hang in there, Jerry. We're working on it," Buffy assured him.

"I know." Jerry hung up after a quick goodbye, and Buffy added his new information to the growing list of clues to what this thing was.

SPN/BtVS: Phantom Traveler

Sam and Dean got back shortly after Jerry called, wearing suits. Buffy wolf whistled and gave each a once over. "Pretty snazzy, fellas."

Dean grumbled and quickly pulled his tie off. "We found sulfur on the door handle of the emergency exit," he reported.

"We were thinking demonic possession," Sam said, grabbing a fresh stack of clothes and heading for the bathroom.

"So was I. The black eyes kinda gave that part away," Buffy agreed. "But with the sulfur, it's gotta be higher up the chain of command. Only demons of great power or influence can leave sulfur behind." She turned back to her computer as Dean changed behind her.

"Any theories?" Dean asked.

"One main one. Every religion in every world culture has some kind of demonic mythology. Christian, Native American, Greek, Roman, you name it, they've got it," Buffy began. "The Japanese culture's slightly different. They believe that not only natural disasters, but those made by man, are caused by demons."

"One causes earthquakes and another causes the dropping of the atomic bomb?" Sam asked

"That's the general idea," Buffy confirmed, nodding her head.

"This one causes plane crashes," Dean muttered, shaking his head. "So we've got a demon that evolved with the times."

"Who knows how many planes this thing has caused to go down over the years." Sam looked up at her. "We've got to stop this thing."

"Before I forget, Jerry called a little while ago. His pilot friend died in a plane crash, outside if Nazareth," Buffy said.

"You get anymore information?" Dean asked.

"Not from him. But I'm going to bet that you're going to find sulfur there too. I went back and looked into some recent plane crashes. There have been at least eight crashes in the past fifteen years that have something in common," Buffy continued. "Each flight went down forty minutes in."

"2485?" Sam asked.

"Yep, that one too. You boy's going on a ride to Nazareth?"

"I think we'd better stop by Jerry's first, let him know what we know," Dean said. "You comin' this time?"

"Sure. Let me grab my coat."

SPN/BtVS: Phantom Traveler

Sam watched his brother and sister chat about nothing on the way to Jerry's airport, wondering what had just happened. Buffy hated research with a deep passion, just as Dean did, and had always found excuses to get out of it. Now, she had stayed behind to do exactly that while he and Dean did the legwork. It didn't make any sense. Finding out obscure facts and relating them to their current case was his favorite part. He had been looking forward to sitting down and and researching when Buffy had come up with little to nothing.

He thought back to what had become a constant refrain since he rejoined his family, "A lot's changed in two years," and wondered what that meant. Dean and Buffy were always close, Dad was always leaving for long periods of time, usually returning, and Sam had, at least until he left for school, always tagged behind his older siblings. Sam was the sheltered Winchester. Dad ignored him unless he was actually home. Dean protected him, going behind his back taking care of his problems, teaching him the hunting side of things and keeping him safe. Buffy had mothered him, all of them actually, taught him how to read, cook, and do math. She tended his bruises, cuts, and nursed him back to health when he was sick.

Dean hadn't changed much from the way he was before Sam went off to college, but Buffy had. She had always been the one telling her brothers what to do, him more so than Dean, that much hadn't changed. It was more her look on life. Two years ago, Buffy was carefree, flamboyant, even. She did what she wanted when she wanted to. Now she was much more focused on the job. She took it more seriously than Dean did, possibly even more than Dad. What happened to her to make such a drastic change?

SPN/BtVS: Phantom Traveler

The conversation with Jerry was quick, but it did bring home something all three had overlooked. "There were no survivors," Dean muttered, as they walked back to the Impala. "from any of those other flights?"

"No. Not until this one. 2485." Buffy stomped her food. "God! I'm so mentally challenged!"

"It's going after the survivors," Sam concluded. "It's trying to finish the job."

"Yep, and I bet the first of the survivors to go will be that flight attendant, what's her name?" Buffy asked.

"Amanda Walker," Sam answered as the three of them got into the car. "I'll call, see if I can get anything."

"Do it fast. Amanda might not even be in Pennsylvania anymore," Buffy warned.

SPN/BtVS: Phantom Traveler

Buffy was right. Amanda was currently in Indiana, with a flight that left in six hours. Dean gunned it and made it in five and a half.

"So, what happens when we get on that plane?" Buffy asked, fishing around in her pocket for the tickets that Jerry had given them.

"Well, we need to find who it's possessing and exorcize it," Sam answered as he stepped out of the Impala.

Buffy and Dean started running to the airport, but Sam called them back "Guys! We're about to enter an AIRPORT!"

Buffy and Dean glanced at each other before looking back at Sam. "So?" Buffy asked.

"Put the weapons in the car," Sam said, pointing to the trunk.

"I ready got rid of my knives," Buffy answered, looking back at Dean.

He gave a pout before walking back to the Impala, opening the trunk and taking the gun out of his waistband. "I feel naked now," he complained.

"You get used to it," Buffy assured him. "Let's try and catch Amanda."

SPN/BtVS: Phantom Traveler

Dean tried to talk Amanda out of flying on the plane as Buffy walked around the airport and purposely bumped into a flight attendant and dropped the suitcase she was holding.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Buffy apologized, grabbing the flight attendant's suitcase when she got up.

"It's fine, don't worry about it," the woman replied, getting up and grabbing the other suitcase.

Buffy smiled and walked over to her brothers. "Any luck?" she asked.

"Nope. Our only other option is to get on that plane," Sam informed her.

"I thought as much," Buffy said, just as Dean exclaimed "Wait a minute!"

"That plane is leaving with over a hundred people on board, and if we're right, it's going to crash!" Sam insisted.

"I know!" Dean shouted in a high pitched voice.

"We need to get on that plane and exorcize that demon," Sam repeated. "You go and get everything that can get through security. Buffy, make sure those tickets are for the right flight." When Dean didn't move, Sam asked, "Are you alright?"

Buffy looked from Sam to Dean, understanding what was going on. "No!" Dean shouted. "Not really!"

"What is it?" Sam demanded.

Buffy took a deep breath. "He's afraid to fly."

"It's never really been an issue until now!" Dean insisted.

"It's the main factor in why he drives everywhere, if you take the Impala out of the picture," Buffy confirmed, ignoring the glare Dean sent her way.

"Then Buffy and I will do it!" Sam suggested.

"You said it yourself, Sam, the plane's going to crash!" Dean hissed.

"So, Buffy and I can go ourselves, or we all three can go. I'm not seeing another option!" Sam implored.

"You two sort this out, I'm going to get changed," Buffy said, causing them to turn their attention to her.

"Change into what?" Sam asked.

"Jerry only got us two tickets, so I'm going as a flight attendant, got the uniform and everything," Buffy answered, pointing at the suitcase her brothers hadn't noticed.

"Where did you get that?" Dean asked.

"Off the flight attendant I ran into. Every attendant has to carry an extra uniform in their bag incase something happens to the one they're wearing," Buffy explained.

"How do you know that?" Sam demanded.

"Slept with one," Buffy grinned before walking off to the bathroom.

SPN/BtVS: Phantom Traveler

Dean refused to let both of them handle the demon and reluctantly got on the plane behind Sam, handing his ticket to a beaming brunette. "You're seats are in the middle of the plane, sir. Enjoy the flight."

"Yeah, crashes are my thing," Dean muttered, snatching his ticket back from the woman and taking the aisle seat.

"Ladies and gentemen, please take your seats and buckle your belts," a familiar voice spoke through the intercom. "The plane with be taking off in the next few minutes. In the event of an emergency, please note that the exits are towards the back of the plane. In the event of a crash, please buckle your belts and sit your seats in an upright position, and follow the instructions for the air masts on the pamphlet in front of you. Enjoy your flight on United Britania Airlines Flight 424."

They saw Buffy coming out from behind a curtain and sit in a seat at the front.

"Don't pay attention to the woman behind the curtain," Dean muttered. Sam gave a small chuckle, and the plane slowly started to move. Dean looked for, and found, the safety manual Buffy had told the whole plane about, and pulled it out.

When he opened it, there were several sheets of paper with Buffy's handwriting covering the front. They were stories about things that all three used to do when they were young and little tidbits that he barely remembered, or had purposely forgot. He was so engrossed that he didn't notice they were in the air until the plane hit turbulence.

It jerked him violently out of his memories and he remembered where he was and why. Unfortunately Sam noticed. "Just try to relax, man."

"Shut up," Dean spat.

SPN/BtVS: Phantom Traveler

It took Dean ten minutes to open his eyes and he only did that because he felt Buffy standing beside him. "How are you two doing?" she asked cheerily.

"We're fine. Did you find Amanda?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, she's doing just fine, doesn't even seem to be phased by the crash of 2485," she whispered. "She's not possessed."

"You said the name of god in her presence?" Sam asked.

"Yep. Cristo. No reaction," Buffy confirmed. "She's not our girl."

"Excuse me, ma'am," a passenger called.

"I'll get back to you. Scan the plane with the EMF meter," Buffy suggested before she left.

She walked over to the man who called for her. He was around 6 feet tall, like Dean, with spiked brown hair. He was dressed in jeans and a flannel over shirt, but caught Buffy's attention was the pentagram around his neck, which was sitting on a cross. She would bet that the cross was silver and the pentagram was iron. This man was a hunter.

"How may I help you?" she asked, subtlety pulling out the only heirloom she had of her mother, a bracelet of protection charms that she had turned into a necklace.

The man looked up at her. "I thought so," he muttered, studying her necklace.

"Hunter?" Buffy whispered.

"Yeah. Got a job in Dallas. Is there something wrong with the plane?" he asked.

"Everything's fine, why do you ask?" Buffy asked.

"Throwing around Cristo isn't something that people do in normal conversation," he pointed out.

"What's your name?" Buffy asked.

"Christian Campbell," he answered.

"It's nice to meet you," Buffy said. "If we need your help, we'll let you know. Enjoy your flight." Buffy handed him a glass of water before heading to the back of the plane.

Dean joined her, holding a walkman in his hand and wearing earphones. "Something wrong?" he asked.

"No, just be wary of the guy in row 12. He's a hunter. Offered to help, but I told him we've got it covered," Buffy answered. "Got any leads?"

Dean shook his head. "Everyone seemed clean. Maybe it's just not on the plane!"

"Excuse me," a voice said from behind Dean. Dean moved out of the way and the copilot stepped out of the bathroom and started walking back to the cockpit.

Buffy and Dean looked to each other before whispering together, "Cristo."

The man flinched, turning back to stare at them. His eyes were black.

SPN/BtVS: Phantom Traveler

"You got to get him back here!" Sam insisted.

"I won't be able to do it! He saw me, knows I'm after it!" Buffy insisted.

"What about talking to Amanda?" Dean suggested.

"Talking to Amanda about what?" a new voice asked. The three of them turned around and came face to face with a tall, slender blonde. She stood just inside the curtain with her arms crossed. Buffy thought she could hear the faint sound of a foot tapping.

Sam glanced at the other two before starting to explain. "We know you were on flight 2485," he began.

"What?" Amanda exclaimed.

"We've spoken to some of the other passengers and we know it wasn't mechanical failure. We need your help to stop whatever happened to 2485 to happen here," Sam finished.

"The surviving pilot's dead," Buffy added. "That's two crashes in as many months. There was something wrong with that flight too. That same something's wrong here, just as it was wrong on 2485. Maybe you noticed, maybe not."

"Either way, we've got to know," Dean added.

Amanda took in their serious faces and decided to go out on a limb. She didn't want to go through another crash. "On 2485, there was this man. When he got on board I could've sworn his eyes were pitch black."

"That's it," Sam muttered to Buffy and Dean.

"We need you to get the copilot and bring him back here," Buffy ordered.

"I don't understand. Why can't you do it?" Amanda asked.

"He's seen me, so I've blown my cover. All you got to do is bring him here. We want to talk to him," Buffy answered. When Amanda was out she turned to Sam. "Which one are you going to use?"

"The ritual Romano," Sam answered.

"Isn't that one two parts?" Buffy asked. "There isn't a one parter in that thing we could use?"

"Not on a crowded plane with the supplies we have," Sam denied.

"What do we have to do?" Dean asked.

"Just read it. The first part makes the demon manifest, the second sends it back to Hell."

"Alrighty then. You two will do it, and I'll keep people from coming back here," Buffy said, just as Amanda got back.

"What can I help you with?" the copilot asked. No one answered him with words. Dean pulled his fist back as Buffy pulled Amanda back into the passenger's compartment.

"What's going on? You said you just wanted to talk to him!" she whispered furiously. "We could loose our jobs!"

"That man isn't who you think he is, not at the moment," Buffy explained.

"I don't understand," Amanda shook her head.

"You don't have to. What you have to do is keep everyone calm and in their seats. We'll do the rest," Buffy assured her. Still shaken, Amanda nodded her head in agreement and made her way to the front of the plane ignoring the sounds of fighting she heard behind Buffy.

SPN/BtVS: Phantom Traveler

Dean pulled back his fist and punched the possessed copilot in the jaw. The blow turned his head, but the man didn't go down. Dean hit him again as Sam threw Holy Water on him.

The man went down and Dean straddled him, duct-taping the man's mouth shut. "Hit it Sammy, I don't know how long I can hold him!"

Sam began chanting in Latin, reading from Dad's journal, as Dean held down the thrashing man. Halfway through, the copilot threw Dean off him and ripped the gag off. "I know what happened to your girlfriend!" he taunted, his voice augmented by the demon inside.

It was enough to get Sam to stop reading. "She must've died screaming! Even now she's burning!"

"Sam!" Dean cried, punching the man again and getting back on him. Sam shook his head and looked for his place before picking up where he left off. The copilot's thrashing got worse until the final three words of the exorcism. Sam put the journal down and helped Dean keep the man from hurting himself. The man thrashed and screamed, but no words escaped. Instead a cloud of black smoke billowed from his mouth, floating up into the air vent near the ceiling. Neither brother noticed that the journal had been kicked into the cabin.

"It's in the plane!" Dean said, unnecessarily. "We've got to finish it before. . ." The plane took a sudden down turn. ". . it takes control of the plane."

SPN/BtVS: Phantom Traveler

Both Buffy and Amanda had little trouble from the passengers. The only one that had any idea something was going on was Christian, who was trying for the third time to get Buffy to tell him was was going on. Buffy was able to brush him off until the plane took a nose dive, which brought something else into Buffy's line of vision. Her father's journal had just sailed between her feet. Looking to the back, she saw Sam coming from behind the curtain and look to the floor just as everyone started screaming.

She saw the journal stuck under the seat of a passenger a few rows ahead of her and dived for it just as the plane suffered another jolt, this time to the right. Buffy quickly grabbed the book and flipped through it until she got to the right page. She quickly began reciting the second part of the Romano, finishing with a harsh, "Time to go back to Hell you son of a bitch!"

There was a sudden bright light and a jolt of energy that went through the plane, before it leveled out and returned to flying smoothly.

Buffy pushed her hair off her face and sighed. "You going to tell me now?" Christian asked, before helping her up. Buffy looked toward the back. Sam and Dean were slowly making their way up the aisle.

Buffy was saved from answering when Dean reached her and pulled her into a hug. His hold was brutal, but Buffy didn't say anything, knowing that this was one of his worst nightmares.

"You alright?" Sam asked, eyeing Christian before returning his attention back to Buffy.

"Yeah, I think so," Buffy answered.

SPN/BtVS: Phantom Traveler

Ninety minutes later, the plane was back at the Indiana airport and the FBI were interrogating all the passengers and crew. Buffy, Dean, and Sam stood to the side as they watched everyone. Buffy had changed back into her worn jeans, tank top, borrowed shirt from Dean, and boots.

Amanda was looking at them while she was talking to the cop. She mouthed "Thank you," before returning her attention back to the agent she was talking to. "Let's get out of here," Dean suggested, turning to the exit.

"Dean, the demon knew about Jess," Sam whined.

"Sam, above everything, you should know that demons lie," Buffy said.

"But, Buffy. . " Sam started.

"Take everything with a grain of salt, Sam,"she warmed.

"Buffy!" a voice called from behind them.

She turned and saw Christian running toward her. "Good work with that demon. Call me if you ever need help with anything else." he said, handing her a card. He nodded at Sam and Dean before walking away.

"Let's go," Buffy repeated, leading the way to the Impala.

SPN/BtVS: Phantom Traveler

The three took their time getting back to Pennsylvania, reaching Kittanning in the late afternoon. Jerry was waiting for them outside of his airport. They gave him a brief account of what happened. "No one knows what you guys did, but I do. I wish I could do more. A lot of people could've been killed."

"We'll see you around, Jerry," Sam said, walking back to the Impala.

"Before we go, I've been meaning to ask. How did you get my number? I've only had it for six months," Dean asked.

"Your Dad gave it to me," Jerry answered. "I called his number, and his voicemail said to call you. Have a safe trip, guys." He left the siblings looking at each other in surprise.

Buffy took out her phone and dialed Dad's number before putting it on speakerphone. She got a ringtone.

"I don't get it, I've been calling every night since Jess. I stopped last week because it's always been out of service," Sam said.

Buffy and Dean didn't answer, instead focusing on their father's voice coming out of Buffy's phone. "This is John Winchester. I can't be reached. If this is an emergency, call my son, Dean at 866-907-3235. He can help."

Buffy had tears in her eyes. It was the first time in four weeks that she had heard from her father, longer than both Dean and Sam had, but it didn't stop her from worrying about him. It was a relief to know that he was alive.

SPN/BtVS: Phantom Traveler

"Why did you call us this time?" the second asked. "Is it Buffy?"

"No. It's Lisa. She's getting suspicious. She keeps asking questions and I've started running out of lies," the first responded.

"What does she think you're doing?" the fifth asked.

"Trying to create a ball of sunshine, if she believes me, but I don't think she does," the first answered. "She must know I'm going after the Head of the Line."

"She doesn't like sharing her power, she's a lot like you in that respect," the fourth said, tilting his head to the second.

"I mellowed with age, I don't think she will," the second answered with a grin. "How are we doing on time?"

"We've got time before the prophecy takes hold, and a few more things have to take place. I don't know what the part about the Boy King refers to," the third sighed. "He has to join with the Protecter and the Returned before any of this can take place."

"Is there a chance that on of the ones Buffy's traveling with is any of the people we need?" the fifth asked.

"I'm not sure, I don't think so. The three are related, we think, and Buffy's not related to either of them," the third answered.

"That and it's unclear if Buffy is the Returned or the Protector. It is unclear how she came to be with the Winchesters. All we know for sure is that the botched spell brought her back, but not how, when, or why, and without Buffy herself here to ask, we're not going to know," the fourth continued.

"Does it have anything to do with me?" the second asked. "I've died once now, and have been brought back."

"The consequences of your resurrection was the release of two powerful demons, the First and Azazel," the fourth reassured. "We defeated the First when we activated the Potentials two years ago. Azazel didn't show off and left the area quietly. We wouldn't even know that he was free if the First hadn't been chatty."

"The First was poorly named. Old demon maybe, but not the beginning of evil," the second said in fond remembrance.

"Yes. Killing the man it was possessing was a good stroke of luck," the first said. "Dealing with the thousands of super vamps, not so much!"

"Keep an eye on Buffy, and alert us if anything important happens," the fourth said.


	4. Bloody Mary

Please let me know what you think in a review!

SPN/BtVS:Bloody Mary

Buffy turned in her seat when she heard moaning from the back seat. "He's at it again," she sighed.

"At least you're not this bad. You get one about once a month, he's getting them three times a day," Dean grumbled. "Wake him up, would you?"

"It's been almost a month, Dean. Give him more time." Buffy said, before leaning forward and pulling on Sam's shoulder.

He awoke with a start, looking around and taking in his surroundings. "I take it I was having a nightmare."

"Yeah. Again," Dean grumbled, ignoring the look Buffy sent his way.

"At least I got some sleep," Sam muttered.

"Sooner or later we're going to have to talk about this," Buffy said, turning in her seat to face front.

"Are we here?" Sam asked, sitting up and placing his feet on the floor of the Impala.

"Yeah. Welcome to Toledo, Ohio," Dean said, turning left at a stop sign.

"What do we know about this guy?" Sam asked, picking up a newspaper.

"He was a stockbroker who was survived by his two daughters, Donna, age 16 and Lily, age 12. He was found on the floor of his house in the upstairs bathroom. According to the obit, it was a stroke," Buffy recited.

"What do we think really happened to him?" Sam asked.

"That's what we're here to find out," Dean said, parking the Impala in front of the University of Toledo Hospital.

"We all going?" Buffy asked, taking off her over shirt and pulling down on her baby tee.

"Yeah, I guess," Dean said.

When they found the morgue they found, not a doctor, but a technician in charge of the morgue. "May I help you?" he asked.

"Yeah. We're here to see the Shoemaker corpse," Buffy said.

"Do you have an appointment?" he asked.

"I didn't realize I needed one. I'm his niece. We were really close, and I didn't get a chance to say goodbye," Buffy said, looking at the man, tears in her eyes.

Apparently the man was one who didn't like to see women cry. He escorted the three of them to the body of the man after handing Buffy several tissues.

They watched at the man opened the compartment and pulled out Steven Shoemaker. The body was pale, and the eyes were missing.

"The newspaper said that his daughter found him and his eyes were bleeding?" Sam asked.

"More than that, they liquified," the morgue tech corrected.

"Was there any sign of a struggle? Any indication that anyone did this to him?" Dean asked.

The tech shook his head. "Not that I know of. You'd have to see the police report."

"What's the official cause of death?" Buffy asked.

"I'm not sure. The preliminary diagnosis is a heart attack, or an aneurysm. Something burst in there, that's for sue," the tech explained.

"What does that mean?" Buffy asked.

"Your uncle had more blood in his head than anyone I've ever seen."

"Do you have a copy of the police report?" Sam asked.

"I'm not supposed to give that to people," the tech said, "not even family members."

Sam sighed and pulled out his wallet, handing over a handful of twenties and ignoring the painful look on Dean's face.

"I earned that money!" Dean hissed after the tech had left.

"You won it in a poker game!" Sam corrected, without sympathy.

Ten minutes later, Sam was leafing through a freshly xeroxed stack of papers as they walked out of the hospital. "Might not be one of ours. Might be just a freak medical thing."

Buffy and Dean snorted. "Really?" Buffy's voice was sarcastic. "In our long and varied career of almost thirty years, has it _ever_ been a freak medical thing?"

"Never," Sam sighed, defeated.

"Exactly. Now, let's go talk to the elder daughter," Dean said, taking the keys out of his pocket and swinging them into his palm.

SPN/BtVS:Bloody Mary

It didn't take long to get to the Shoemaker house, after they finally got going. Buffy insisted on changing into 'something dressy' and made them wait for fifteen minutes. She came out dressed in a simple dark blue dress with faux a pearl necklace and matching earrings. Her honey blonde hair, a shade darker than Dean's, was twisted into a simple bun.

Sam and Dean stared in surprise for a moment before she broke their concentration. "We're going into a wake. You should spiff up."

They didn't and she shook her head and followed her brothers into the car. The three of them walked in the front door when they got to the house and Dean and Sam noticed the formal wear. "I feel underdressed," Dean muttered.

"Not my fault," Buffy murmured back. "Did you actually read the article?"

"Do you know what Donna looks like?" Sam asked, looking around.

"She's in the back," an elderly man said, and gave them directions.

Buffy thanked the man and led the way to the back of the house. "That must be her," Buffy said, pointing with her chin at the young woman sitting with two others around the same age, and a younger girl a short distance away.

"You must be Donna, correct?" Dean asked, approaching the little group.

Donna had short dark hair that ended at her chin, and shiny blue eyes from crying. "That's right," she confirmed.

"We're terribly sorry for your loss," Sam said softly.

"Thank you," Donna said, finally looking up at them. "Who are you?"

"We worked with your dad," Buffy said.

"This whole thing, a stroke?" Dean asked. "Were there ever any signs? Migraines or dizziness?"

"I don't think she wants to talk about this!" one of Donna's friends barked. Dean's attention focused on her. She was tall and very thin with straight bronzed hair and a stern expression.

"I'm okay, Charlie," Donna said, raising a hand to calm her friend, before turning to Dean. "There was nothing, no signs or anything."

"That's because it wasn't a stroke," the younger girl declared adamantly.

"Don't say that Lily," Donna urged.

"What?" Sam asked.

"Don't worry about her. She's very upset," Donna said to Sam, Dean, and Buffy, while giving Lily a stern look.

"Why do you say that, Lily?" Dean asked crouching in front of the girl.

"Because it happened because of me!" Lily insisted.

"It didn't, sweetie," Donna assured her.

"Yes, it did!" Lily insisted. "Right before he died, I said it!"

"Said what?" Dean asked, causing Lily to look back at him instead of her sister.

"Bloody Mary, three times in the bathroom mirror," Lily explained. "She took his eyes, it what she does."

Dean grabbed Lily's hand in his. "I think your sister's right on this one. I mean, your dad didn't say it, did he?"

Lily looked less certain. "I don't think so."

SPN/BtVS:Bloody Mary

"Which bathroom was it?" Dean asked, as they climbed the stairs to the second floor landing.

"The upstairs one off the hall," Buffy answered, "It's the first door on the left."

"Who would have this many mirrors in their house?" Sam wondered, as they passed four on the way up the stairs. "There's one every three feet!"

They reached the bathroom and Dean pushed the door open. They could barely see the blood stain, but it was clear where the blood had gone. The stain extended three feet, starting four inches outside the bathroom door and ending right in front of the sink. The stain was eighteen inches wide and Buffy could understand why the tech had mentioned the blood in Shoemaker's head. Judging by the size of the stain, most of his blood had exited his body through his eyes.

Dean and Sam slowly made their way inside, Dean flicking on the light. "Did Dad ever find any indication that Bloody Mary was a real phenomenon?"

"Not to my knowledge," Dean answered, opening the medicine cabinet and looking through the pill bottles.

"Kids all over the country play . . ." Sam started. He stopped mid sentence when he noticed that the mirror, which served as the door to the medicine cabinet, was facing him, and he had already said it once. ". . it, and as far as we know, no one has ever died from it."

"Maybe that's because here is where the legend began, so it's happening here for real," Buffy suggested as she examined the floor.

"But the little girl's right. You-Know-Who. . ."

"Voldemort?" Buffy interjected.

Dean rolled his eyes. " . . . is supposed to come and scratch your eyes out. She's not supposed to go after other people," he finished.

"Yeah. This time dear old dad gets it," Sam mused.

There was an echo of heels clicking on the floor. Dean and Sam closed doors and drawers and Buffy got to her feet and together they went to greet the person walking in on them.

"What are you doing up here?" one of Donna's friends, Charlie, Buffy thought her name was, demanded.

"We had to use the bathroom," Dean said in a rush.

Charlie crossed her arms. "Who are you?"

"Like we said downstairs, we worked with Donna's dad," Dean answered.

"He was a day trader or something, he worked by himself!"

"Same office," Buffy added, but Charlie still didn't buy it.

"And all those questions downstairs? I don't trust you, so either you tell me what you want, or I start screaming."

"Alright, hold on. We think something happened to Donna's dad," Sam explained.

"Yeah! A stroke!" Charlie insisted.

"That's not the sign of a typical stroke," Sam denied. "We think it's something else."

"Like what?" Charlie demanded.

"We don't know yet," Buffy answered.

"But we don't want anyone else to die. If you're going to scream, go ahead," Sam finished.

"Who are you?" Charlie repeated. "Cops?"

Buffy and Dean laughed. "Something like that," they said together.

Sam reached into the pocket of his jacket and pulled out a piece of paper. "Take this," he said, scribbling his cell number, "and call us if you or any of your friends come across anything strange or out of the ordinary."

Charlie nodded and the Winchesters filed out of the house.

SPN/BtVS:Bloody Mary

"We need to find any local legend about a woman named Mary, if the legend did start here," Buffy said as Dean pulled into the parking lot of the Toledo-Lucas County Public Library.

"That's a big 'if'," Sam said, getting out of the Impala. "There are literally hundreds of versions of the legend with only two common factors: the woman's name was Mary and she died in front of a mirror. Depending on the version, she's a witch, a mutilated bride, in others she's a young mother who's daughter was kidnapped. There's not just one story."

"So what, specifically, are we going to be looking for?" Dean asked as they walked into the library and over to the closest bank of computers.

"We've got to search local lore for the two common factors, Mary and died in front of a mirror," Sam said.

"That sounds annoying," Dean griped.

"No, it's not too. . ." Sam started. He, Dean, and Buffy stared at the out of order signs taped to the monitors of the last four free computers. "I take it back. This will be very annoying."

SPN/BtVS:Bloody Mary

Instead of researching in the library, Dean, Sam, and Buffy took out several books and brought them back to the hotel room. Buffy and Dean were seated at the table by the front window, but Sam took his work to the bed. The only noise for a couple hours was the turning of pages, before Sam fell asleep on top of his work.

"Should we wake him up?" Buffy asked. She had given up on the books shortly after they began and had taken out her computer. It was lucky this motel had wi-fi.

Dean shook his head. "He needs his sleep, nightmares or not."

Silently, Buffy agreed. She nodded before turning back to her work. They managed not to get a lot done. Dean searched through all the books they had, and Buffy looked on the internet. The only things involving people and mirrors involved a Laura, a Catherine, and a Dave.

"Maybe our parameters are too narrow," Buffy suggested. "We didn't consider a cursed object that could've been brought into the area."

Dean sighed. "That would mean that it could be anything!"

Buffy shook her head. "Not necessarily. We're still looking for a Mary who died in front of a mirror, just nationwide."

There was a sudden intake of breath from the bed next to the wall. "Why did you let me fall asleep?" Sam asked, his voice full of sleep.

"Because I'm an awesome brother," Dean answered, tossing his book onto the table. "What did you dream about?"

"Sugarplums and candy canes," Sam answered dryly. "You two find anything?"

"Depends on how you look at it," Buffy said. "We've found that nothing unusual has happened here, before now, that is."

Sam sat up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off by the ringing of his cell. "Hello?" he asked, hoarsely.

SPN/BtVS:Bloody Mary

They met Charlie outside in a park, not far from her high school. Sam stood in front of her, Dean sat on the back of the bench, looking down at Charlie, and Buffy sat beside her. Charlie had her face in her hands, tears flowing down her face. Her friend, Jill, had been found earlier that morning in her bathroom with her eyes cut out.

"And they found her lying there, on the bathroom floor. And her. . . eyes. . . they're gone," Charlie sobbed.

"I'm sorry," Sam said.

"And she said it," Charlie cried. "But it couldn't be because of that!" Sam, Dean, and Buffy exchanged glances. "I'm insane right?"

"No, you're not insane," Dean said.

"Oh, god! That makes it so much worse!" Charlie insisted.

"We think there might be something going on here. Something that can't be explained," Buffy soothed.

"We're going to stop it, but we're going to need your help. We need to see Jill's room," Dean said.

SPN/BtVS:Bloody Mary

Charlie led the way to Jill's house and showed them which window belonged to Jill's bedroom before ringing the doorbell. "We're lucky her room's in the back," Buffy muttered as she followed Dean and Sam up onto the roof, Sam carrying a bag over his shoulder.

There was a flash and she saw herself climbing out a window on the second floor of a white two story colonial house then climbing down a tree. Buffy shook her head and Charlie appeared in the window in front of her, bringing her back to where she was.

Sam went in first and Dean followed. "What did you tell Jill's mom?" he asked as Buffy crawled through the window.

"Just that I wanted to be alone with Jill's things," Charlie answered. Sam reached into the bag and pulled out a camcorder. "I hate lying to her."

"Trust us, it's for the best," Buffy said.

"Get the lights, would you?" Dean asked walking to the window to close it.

"What are you looking for?" Charlie asked, crossing the room and flicking the lights.

"We'll know when we find it," Buffy answered.

"Night vision?" Sam asked. Buffy flicked it on. "Perfect."

He aimed the camera at Dean who posed. "Do I look like Paris Hilton?"

Buffy ignored the byplay. Something was pulling at her. There was a faint tinge of something unnatural in the area, and it was coming from the bathroom. She walked over and pushed the bathroom door open and the feeling got stronger. She halted in front of the bathroom mirror and cocked her head. The feeling in her gut told her that she was where Jill had been when she died. She turned her head. "Sam!"

Sam, followed by Dean and Charlie, walked into the bathroom. "There's something here," Buffy said, pointing at the mirror.

"Another gut feeling?" Dean asked.

"Another gut feeling," Buffy repeated, nodding her head and stepping out of the way, allowing Sam to get in front of the mirror.

"She's right," Sam said, holding the camera on the lower left hand corner of the mirror. There was some kind of fluid dripping down the wall from behind the mirror. He handed Buffy the camera and took the mirror off the wall.

Dean led the way back into the bedroom and Sam placed his load on the bed, back face up. He tore off the paper covering on the back and cocked his head at the barely visible letters on the back. "We've got a black light in the trunk, right?"

Buffy quickly left through the window with a practiced ease and was back inside of five minutes. She turned it on and handed it to Sam. "Gary Bryman?" Sam read, confused, fingers glossing over the handprint that accompanied the name.

"Hold the light up, I'm going to take a picture," Buffy said, and Sam obliged.

"Who is he?" Dean asked, looking at Charlie.

"I don't know," she said.

SPN/BtVS:Bloody Mary

Dean and Buffy were sitting on a bench outside of city hall with Charlie.

"I don't get it, the first victim didn't summon Mary, but the second one did. How is she choosing her victims?" Buffy asked.

"I don't know. Why did she even say it in the first place?" Dean asked.

"It was a joke. She did it because I believed it," Charlie said, wrapping her arms around her waist.

Sam walked over to them at that point and the three waiting looked up at him. "Gary Bryman was an eight year old boy. He was killed in a hit and run two years ago. The car was a black Toyota Camry. No one saw the driver or got the plates."

"Oh, god!" Charlie exclaimed. "Jill drove that car!"

Buffy and Dean looked at one another before looking at Sam. "We need to get back to Donna's house," they chorused.

SPN/BtVS:Bloody Mary

Donna reluctantly let the group of four into the house, and Charlie led the way to the bathroom. Dean glanced at Buffy. "You don't feel anything?" he asked.

"No. It must've happened too long ago. The feeling at Jill's was faint, and that happened just last night," Buffy answered, as Sam took down the bathroom carefully.

On the back of the mirror was another name, Linda Shoemaker, and another handprint. "Who's Linda Shoemaker?" Dean asked. "Donna's mom?"

"Yeah, Linda was my mom, so what?" Donna demanded from the doorway.

"It's important. Are there any more details?"

"She overdosed on sleeping pills when I was twelve, and that's it! I think you should leave," Donna insisted.

"Donna," Dean began, but it was clear that Linda was a very sensitive subject.

"Get out of my house!" Donna yelled, pointing to the steps.

"We're just leaving," Buffy said in a calming voice, glare telling her brothers to leave without fighting.

SPN/BtVS:Bloody Mary

They didn't say anything until they reached their motel room. "I'll get the FBI, you get NCIC?" Buffy asked Dean, sitting in front of her computer.

"Wait, you're going to do a nationwide search?" Sam demanded.

"Yeah. There is absolutely nothing local, we've checked, so unless you've got a better idea," Dean began.

"You know, the way Mary's choosing her victims, it's almost like there's a pattern to it," Buffy said.

"I was just think the same thing," Sam agreed. "Mr. Shoemaker, and Jill's hit and run. . ."

"Both had secrets where people died," Dean concluded.

"Exactly. There are many myths and superstitions about mirrors. A lot about mirrors revealing all your lies and secrets," Buffy said.

"That they truly are a reflection of your soul, which is why it's bad luck to break them, and why Native Americans didn't like their pictures taken," Sam added.

Dean stood up and began to pace. "So if you have a secret, a real doozy like where someone died, Mary sees it and punishes you for it."

"Whether you're the on that summoned her or not," Sam concluded.

Ten minutes later, Buffy called a meeting at her computer. "That handprint look familiar?" she asked, pointing to the picture.

In it, there was a young woman on the floor, blood everywhere. On the mirror there was a bloody handprint and three letters TRE.

"What's her name?" Sam asked.

"Mary Worthington." Buffy answered. "An unsolved murder in Fort Wayne, Indiana."

SPN/BtVS:Bloody Mary

Sam successfully found the detective who was in charge of the case and they were standing in the living room of Detective Steven Wright two and a half hours later.

"I was on the job for 35 years, and a detective for most of that. Every cop retires with a few cold cases, but the Mary Worthington murder, it still gets me," Wright said, shaking his head.

"What exactly happened?" Dean asked.

Wright turned to look at him. "You said you were reporters."

"That's right, sir. We know Mary was nineteen an lived alone. We know she won a few local beauty contests," Buffy began.

"She wanted to get out of Indiana and become an actress. We know that the night of the murder she was found on the floor in front of her mirror by the landlord, eyes missing," Sam continued.

"That's right," Wright confirmed.

"What I meant was what did you think happened?" Dean clarified.

"I couldn't put that case to rest, so I kept a copy of the report," Right said, walking over to a filing cabinet in the corner. He pulled a copy of the digital picture that Sam, Buffy, and Dean had seen on the computer. "See here, the letters T-R-E?"

"Yeah," Buffy said.

"I think Mary was trying to spell out the name of her killer," Wright guessed.

"Any idea who it was?" Dean asked.

"According to her diary, Mary was seeing a man, Trevor Sampson, She called him by an abbreviation, 'T'," Wright said, pulling out a grainy picture of a man wearing sunglasses. "He was a surgeon and according to Mary's last entry. She was going to tell T's wife about their affair."

"How do you know it was Sampson who killed her?" Sam asked.

"There's nothing but circumstantial evidence, but the way her eyes were cut out, it was almost professional," Wright confessed. "We could never prove it."

"Is he still alive?" Buffy asked.

"No." Wright sat down heavily on a nearby chair. "If you ask me, Mary spent her last moments trying to expose this guy's secret."

"Where's she buried?" Sam asked.

Wright shook his head. "She wasn't. She was cremated."

Dean pointed to the mirror in the picture still in the detective's hand. "What about the mirror? Is that still around?"

"It was returned to Mary's family a long time ago," Wright said.

"You have their number?" Buffy asked.

SPN/BtVS:Bloody Mary

They drove through the night back to Toledo. Sam called the number Det. Wright had given them and came across interesting information. "The number was for Mary's brother. They kept the mirror in the family for a long time, until he sold it, a week ago, to an antique shop. A shop in Toledo."

"You think that Mary's following her mirror?" Buffy asked.

"Her spirit's definitely caught up with it somehow," Sam agreed.

"Isn't there an old superstition that says mirrors can capture spirits?" Dean asked.

Buffy nodded. "Yeah. That's why people used to cover mirrors after people died, so their spirit won't get caught in one."

"So Mary dies in front of a mirror, and it draws in her sprit," Dean said, thinking out loud.

"If that's true, how could she travel through anything with a reflective surface?" Sam asked.

"I don't know, but if the mirror's the source of her power, I say we get rid of it," Buffy suggested.

Sam opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off by the ringing of his phone. "Hello? Charlie?"

SPN/BtVS:Bloody Mary

Sam and Dean left to get Charlie while Buffy covered everything in the room that looked like it might give a reflection. When Charlie got there, Sam put her in the middle of his bed and sat down beside her. Charlie was sobbing, curled up into a ball.

"You get everything?" Dean asked, scanning the room for anything Buffy missed.

"I think so," Buffy answered, wiping her brow.

Dean nodded to Sam who tapped Charlie on the arm. "Charlie, you can open your eyes, now." She followed Sam's instruction, eyes wet and full of fear. "Listen to me. You're going to stay right here and not look at anything that has a reflection. As long as you do that, she can't get you."

"But I can't keep that up forever," she whispered, tears falling down her face. "I'm going to die, aren't I?"

"Not if we can help it," Buffy promised, sitting opposite Sam.

Dean sat on the opposite bed, facing the three of them. "We need to know what happened."

"We were in the bathroom. Donna said it."

Buffy shook her head. "That's not what we mean. There's something in your past, something that you never told anyone, where someone got hurt."

With a shaking voice, Charlie told them about an ex-boyfriend who had committed suicide when she broke up with him. "Oh, sweetie, that wasn't your fault. You did the right thing. If he scared you, the best thing you could've done was get out early," Buffy said, hugging Charlie.

"Let's put this bitch down," Dean growled, grabbing his leather jacket and keys as he walked out the door.

SPN/BtVS:Bloody Mary

Dean was driving, as per usual, Sam was in the passenger's side, and Buffy was in the back. "You know, her boyfriend killing himself, that's not Charlie's fault," Dean said.

"You know as well as I do that spirits tend to see in black and white. Charlie had a secret, and someone died," Buffy answered, leaning on the front seat so her head was between Sam's and Dean's.

"I guess," Dean sighed.

"I was thinking," Sam started.

"Don't hurt yourself," Buffy teased.

"Ha, ha," Sam said dryly. "I was thinking. It might not be enough to just smash Mary's mirror."

"I thought that as well. Salt and burn?" Buffy suggested.

"Not exactly," Sam corrected. "Mary's hard to pin down, since she can go through any mirror so she can just hind in them forever. What would happen if we summoned her to her mirror, then smashed it?"

"How do we know that's going to work?" Dean asked.

"We don't," Sam said.

"Who's going to summon her?" Buffy asked.

"I will. She'll come after me," Sam said.

"That's enough," Dean demanded, pulling the car to the side of the road. "This is about Jessica, isn't it? You think that's your dirty little secret? That you killed her somehow? Sam, this has got to stop!" he insisted, turning to face Sam. "I mean the nightmares and calling her name in the middle of the night, it's going to kill you! Listen to me, it was _not_ your fault. If you want to blame something, blame the thing that killed her. Better yet, take a swing at me! I'm the one that insisted we leave that night!"

"I don't blame you," Sam said. "Either of you," he added, seeing Buffy's guilty face.

"Well, you shouldn't blame yourself," Buffy said in a soft voice.

"There's nothing you could've done!" Dean insisted.

"I could've warned her!" Sam shouted.

"About what?" Dean asked. "You didn't know what was going to happen! Besides this isn't a secret, we know all about it. It's not going to work with Mary anyway!"

Sam shook his head. "You don't know all of it. I haven't told you everything."

"Sam, please don't do anything stupid," Buffy said.

"What are you talking about?" Dean asked.

"If I told you it wouldn't be a secret, would it?" Sam asked, showing the rebellious side that Dean and Buffy had dealt with since Sam was twelve.

Dean glared at Sam and changed tactics. "No. I don't like it. It's not going to happen." Buffy shook her head. Sam might follow Dean's orders better than Dad's, but she knew this was something that Sam wouldn't budge on.

"Charlie's going to die, unless we do something about it, not to mention anyone else in this town playing stupid kids' games. Now, we're doing this. You've got to let me do this."

Dean looked to Buffy for support, followed quickly by Sam. "I don't like it anymore than you do, Dean, but the only other option I can think of is to risk Charlie. If Sam thinks he's got something that can bring Mary, I suggest we monitor him as closely as possible to make sure he lives through this."

Sam turned to face the road, a small smug smile on his face. Dean looked pissed, but took the Impala out of neutral and started driving to the antique store again.

SPN/BtVS:Bloody Mary

Buffy quickly picked the lock and led the three of them into the store. "How many mirrors does a place need?" she asked.

The first room of the store had mirrors on every available area of wall, the occasional clock dotted here and there. Dressers, tables, lamps, and floor clocks littered the floor. Dean pulled out the picture of the murder scene and the three studied it before splitting up to look for it. Fifteen minutes later Dean called out, "Maybe they sold it!"

"I don't think so," Sam called back, from the depths of the shop.

Buffy and Dean meandered over to him and looked at the ancient mirror. It was a gelded mirror, about four feel long and three feet wide. The gold glinted in the light of their flashlights. Dean held out the picture again for a final comparison.

"That's it," Dean agreed. "You ready?"

Sam raised his crow bar. "As I'll ever be," he answered. Buffy and Dean flanked him, holding their crowbars at the ready. Sam took a deep breath. "Bloody Mary, Bloody Mary," Sam inhaled deeply the released it. "Bloody Mary."

A light from the front lit up the back room they were in, distracting the three Winchesters. "I'll deal with that. You two be careful. Smash anything that moves!" Dean left.

Buffy caught sight of a faceless girl dressed in rags in a mirror to her left. She turned and smashed it just as Sam smashed one on the other side of the room. "Come on!" Sam shouted, standing back in front of Mary's mirror. "Come into this one!"

Buffy was at his side, prepared to smash the mirror when her reflection's determinate look turned into a smirk. She cocked her head, unaware that Sam was doing the same.

Blood started falling down her face like tears. "You killed him!" the reflection accused. "You killed Merrick! He told you to wait until you were better trained, but you didn't listen, did you! You thought you knew better!"

Buffy fell to her knees, struggling to breathe. "He followed you to keep you safe when you weren't ready. He was the one who was staked in your place! And when he was turned, you killed him again! Thrust a stake through his heart!"

There was a crunching noise then the crash of breaking glass. Buffy fell to the floor, coughing.

"Sam? Sammy?" Dean's voice called from far away. She didn't hear a response, but jerked when someone grabbed her and pulled her up. "Buffy? Are you alright?"

"Dean?" Buffy's voice was hoarse and she opened her eyes. Sam's plan had worked. Whatever he secret he had had been enough to bring Mary. She focused her gaze on him and noticed that Sam had his own tears of blood.

"What happened to you?" Dean asked, brushing her hair off her face. Buffy didn't understand what he was talking about until she looked into a nearby mirror. Sam's face looked like he had a small cry, with two lines running down his face. Her face, however, was glistening. Blood covered her face in a light coat.

"I don't know. . ." Buffy answered, still not sure what was going on.

Dean carefully helped both Sam and Buffy up. They were headed for the door when they heard the crunch of glass behind them. Stopping in their tracks, they turned and watched as something crawled out of the mirror. Mary straightened and began walking toward them. Buffy could feel the blood, this time, making its way down her face. She stretched and grabbed a corner of a fallen mirror. She pulled it up and used it as a shield and heard as Mary was forced to destroy herself. After hearing Mary shatter, Buffy dropped the mirror and collapsed on her back.

"Hey, guys? This is at least, what? 600 years bad luck?" Dean asked, drawing a weak chuckle from his siblings.

SPN/BtVS:Bloody Mary

They dropped Charlie off hen headed out of Toledo, before anyone mentioned anything that happened the night before.

"What made you think to use the mirror to gank Mary?" Dean asked.

"If she could look into people's souls, I figured she could look into her own," Buffy reasoned.

"Do you have any idea why you were bleeding more than I was?" Sam asked.

Buffy thought back to what Mary had said. She didn't remembering meeting anyone by the name of Merrick, either people she had saved or people she had met in passing, who she could say she had a hand in their deaths. She didn't know who the Merrick person was, or why she felt guilty over it.

"The only reason I can think of is I had a secret that was worse than the one you had. But I don't know what it is," Buffy answered, throughly terrified.

"What was your secret, anyway?" Dean asked, glancing at Sam.

Sam smiled, "You're my brother, and I'd die for you, but there are some things I'm going to keep to myself."

Dean was busy driving, but Buffy noticed when Sam sat transfixed at something outside the car, near a telephone pole. As Dean completed his turn, Sam jolted, facing forward. Buffy sat back on her seat, thinking.

SPN/BtVS:Bloody Mary

"Any news on Buffy?" the third asked. "Last I heard she was an hour away."

"Yeah, she spent a week in Toledo," the first answered. "The scrying spell I've been using hasn't detected any more danger than Buffy's usually in."

"Damn, I'd never guess that Bloody Mary was real," the second laughed.

"It was something we weren't expecting," the fourth agreed.

"Any more luck on the prophecy?" the fifth asked.

"Yes and no," the third said. "We've clarified that Buffy is the Returned, but that brings us no closer to figuring out who the Protector or the Boy King are. If Buffy's supposed to be related to them, then I'm not sure where to continue to look."

"How sure are we that Buffy isn't related to Sam and Dean?" the fourth asked. "She lived another life, how are we to know something didn't change?"

"If they are part of this, then their lives just got more complicated," the first said. "They'll have a demon out for their blood and they won't know why."

"Do what you can to verify that Dean and Sam are related to Buffy. Then we'll decide what to do," the fourth decided.


	5. Skin

Please let me know what you think in a review!

SPN/BtVS: Skin

Buffy woke up from her nap when the Impala stopped at a gas station. Dean was gone and Sam was sitting in the front seat fiddling with something that was giving off small beeping noises.

"Where are we?" Buffy yawned.

"Just crossed the border into New Mexico," Sam answered, absently.

Dean walked up to the car and tossed in a few snacks before climbing in. "I figure we'll hit Tucumcari by lunch and be in Bisbee by midnight, how's that sound?"

Buffy opened a bag of onion rings and handed them to Dean. "Depends, what's in Bisbee?"

"A black dog, I think," Dean answered. "Details were a little sketchy. Sam, are you even listening?"

"Yeah, I'm listening," Sam muttered, clearly not paying much attention. "I'm just busy."

"Doin' what?" Dean asked.

"Checking my email," Sam answered.

"No, seriously, whatcha doing?" Buffy asked.

"Checking my email," Sam repeated, frowning at Buffy.

"Email from who?" Dean demanded.

"My friends at Stanford," Sam answered.

"Really? You still keep in touch with those people?" Buffy asked.

"Why not?" Sam asked, confused.

"What exactly do you tell them?" Dean wondered.

"That I'm on a road trip with my family, taking a break after Jess," Sam explained.

"And they buy that?" Buffy laughed. "If it were me, I'd be searching into every little detail to find out who you really are!"

"They have no reason not to buy it," Sam said.

"You like lying to them, Sam?" Dean asked.

"No. I just don't tell them everything."

"And that, my friend, is lying by omission. But Dean and I understand. The truth's much worse."

"Oh god," Sam exclaimed.

"What?" Buffy and Dean chorused.

"I just got this email from a friend of mine, Rebecca Warren. She says that her brother Zack's been arrested for killing his girlfriend. Rebecca's saying that he didn't do it, but it sounds like they have a pretty good case," Sam answered.

"Who were you hanging out with?" Buffy demanded, worried.

"No, man, I know Zack, he's no killer," Sam denied.

"Maybe you know him as well as he knows you," Dean suggested.

"They're in St. Louis, we've got to go!" Sam insisted.

Dean laughed, shaking his head. "I'm sorry about your friend, but this doesn't sound like our kind of problem!"

"It is our problem! They're my friends!" Sam yelled.

"St. Louis is 400 miles behind us!" Dean shouted back.

"Dean," Buffy said softly. "You'd do it for Cassie."

"Goddamn it!" Dean shouted before turning the car around.

SPN/BtVS: Skin

After much unpleasant grumbling from Dean, hours of blasted music, and shouted directions from Sam, they pulled in front of a large house. "This it?" Buffy asked, looking the house over. It was easily the most expensive building that she had ever been in, a small mansion by the look of it.

"Yeah, they were well off," Sam said, before getting out and leading the way up the walk and ringing the doorbell.

"Oh, my god! Sam!" a tall bleach blonde exclaimed as she opened the door. She was thin, and dressed in a loose blouse and cords.

"Well, if it isn't little Becky?" Sam teased, pulling Rebecca into a tight hug.

"You know where you can shove that little Becky crap!" she responded, poking Sam in the chest. "Who are they?"

"This is Dean, my older brother, and Buffy, his twin sister," Sam said pointing to each as he introduced the pair. "I got your email, I'm so sorry."

"Thank you, but I don't think there's anything that anyone can do," Rebecca said, gesturing them to enter the house.

"Nice digs," Dean complimented.

"Thanks. It's my parents' house. They're on their way back from Paris. I'm just crashing here until Zack's free," Rebecca said.

"What happened?" Sam asked.

Rebecca took a deep breath. "Zack went home and found Emily tied to a chair, beaten, bloody, and not breathing. He called 911, and the police arrested him." She wiped tears off her face. "The thing is, the only way he could've killed her is if he were in two places at once. The police have a video, from a camera across the street. It shows Zack coming home around ten, but I swear he didn't leave here until after midnight."

"Do you mind if we take a look at everything? We might find something you missed," Buffy offered.

"I don't think there is anything that you could do, so I don't see how it would hurt," Rebecca agreed.

"Maybe we could see Zack's house?" Sam asked.

"We could," Dean agreed.

"Have the police gotten everything they could from the place?" Buffy asked.

"I think so, let me get my keys," Rebecca said, then left the room.

"What was that, Buffy?" Dean demanded. "This isn't our kind of problem!"

"We've looked into less," Sam argued.

"I feel something here, it's faint, but I feel something. I want to know what it is," Buffy answered.

SPN/BtVS: Skin

Rebecca gave directions to Dean as he drove to the house, closer to the center of town. "Are you sure we don't need a cop?"

"We've got one," Sam said, pointing to Dean.

"Really?" Rebecca asked.

"Yeah," Dean nodded as they pulled in front of the house Rebecca indicated.

"Where?"

"Bisbee, Arizona," Dean said, glaring at Sam, who shrugged his shoulders.

The four of them got out of the car and walked up the front walk. "Hey, boy!" Buffy cooed at the boxer barking at them from the house next door.

"That used to be the sweetest, most loving dog I've ever met. Then she changed over night," Rebecca shook her head.

"You know when?" Dean asked.

"About two weeks ago, around the time of the murder," Rebecca answered.

"Look, Becca, if Zack didn't do this, do you have any idea who would have?" Sam asked.

Rebecca shook her head. "He wasn't really in town long enough for him to get anyone to hate him that much. A week before the murder there was a break-in, someone stole some of Zack's clothes. The police say that the two are unrelated."

Sam walked further into the house and found a picture of him, with Zack and Rebecca, taken at their graduation. He didn't notice Buffy walk over to him

"The neighbor's dog went crazy around the time your friend's supposed to have done the same," Buffy muttered.

"You think the dog knows something?" Sam asked.

"Animals are more attuned to the paranormal than we are, it's possible," Buffy agreed.

"You think this is our kind of problem?" Sam asked

"More than Dean does, but I'm still reserving judgement," Buffy answered.

Dean and Rebecca joined them. "You need anything else?" Rebecca asked.

"Think we could get a peek at the tape?" Buffy asked.

"What do you do?" Rebecca asked her.

"PI, I consult with Dean most of the time," she lied quickly. "About that tape?"

"I've got a copy. I didn't want to say anything in front of a cop, because I stole it from my lawyer's desk. I had to see for myself that Zack had done it," Rebecca said.

"Let's get back to your house and see it then," Buffy suggested, and led the way out.

SPN/BtVS: Skin

Buffy, Sam, Dean, and Rebecca were in the living room soon after they got back. Rebecca put in the tape and pressed 'play' on the remote. "Here he comes," she said.

The tape was in black and white, so details were hard to make out, but they could see the shape of a man walking across the field of the camera. As he looked over his shoulder, his face looked straight into the camera.

"That's the time he entered the house? 22:04? That's shortly after ten. Time of death was around 12:30?" Dean asked.

Rebecca nodded. "The lawyer hired a video expert. He said that the video wasn't tampered with," she said.

"Could you get us a few beers, and a soda for Buffy?" Sam asked.

"Sure." Rebecca got up and headed out of the room.

"Maybe a few sandwiches too?" Buffy added.

"What do you think this is? Hooters?" Rebecca grumbled as she left.

"I wish," Dean sighed. "What did you see?"

"Sam, rewind the tape," Buffy requested. Sam did and replayed it.

"See that?" Sam asked, pausing the tape when Zack looked into the camera. His eyes had turned a solid silver color.

"Maybe it's just a camera flare," Dean suggested.

"That's possible, but you know better than that, Dean," Buffy chastised gently.

"It's not like any flare that I've seen," Sam added. "A lot of cultures believe that a photograph can catch a glimpse of the soul."

"Like Bloody Mary without the killing," Buffy muttered.

"Remember what happened with the neighbor's dog? Maybe it somehow sensed that Zack was different, and is trying to warn someone. Maybe the Zack that attacked Emily wasn't Zack. A double maybe?"

"Yeah, a dark, gay, vampire double," Buffy grinned, laughing. Dean and Sam stared at her blankly. "I don't know where that came from."

"A doppelganger," Dean concluded.

"It would explain the two places at once thing," Sam agreed.

SPN/BtVS: Skin

Dean and Buffy were yawning. Sam had dragged them back to Zack's house, this time looking at the back of the house. Sam was actively looking around for something. Buffy and Dean were leaning against the hood of the Impala, sharing a coffee.

"What are we doing here at 5:30 in the morning?" Dean asked.

"I realized something," Sam explained. "The tape shows the killer going in, but not leaving."

"So he came out the back door," Dean explained.

"So there must be a trail to follow," Buffy concluded.

"Yeah, one the police wouldn't follow, because they think they caught him inside," Sam agreed. Dean shook his head and muttered something under his breath that Buffy didn't catch. "There's blood on this pole here," Sam called.

Before Buffy or Dean could do anything, the sound of an ambulance siren pulled a few blocks down the road. Sam led the way down the street. There was a small crowd in front of a small apartment building. The police were walking out with an Asian man in handcuffs.

Dean approached a woman dressed in jugging clothes, ipod strapped to her arm. "What's going on?"

"He tried to kill his wife. He tied her up and beat her," the woman responded, "I used to to wave him as I passed when he went to work. He seemed like such a nice guy."

Dean excused himself and looked around for Sam and Buffy. He spotted Sam behind the building and walked toward him, before deciding to talk to one of the officers.

SPN/BtVS: Skin

"Sam, you find anything?" Buffy asked, scanning the back alley behind the apartment complex.

"More blood stains," Sam said, pointing to another telephone pole.

"Remember when I said this wasn't our kid of problem?" Dean asked, approaching them down the alley.

"Yeah," Sam acknowledged.

"Definitely our kind of problem," Buffy finished. "I've got a huge bad feeling about this."

"What did you find out?" Sam asked.

"I had an informative conversation with Officer Reynolds, the cop who was first on the scene. He says that the guy, Alex, said that he was driving home when his wife was attacked," Dean said.

"So he was two places at once," Sam said.

"Yeah. Freaks out when he sees himself in his house, and the cops thinks he's crazy," Dean continued.

"Two doubles attacking loved ones in the same way. Could it be the same thing doing it?" Sam asked.

"Shapeshifter," Buffy declared. "Something that can make itself look like anything."

"Every culture has some folklore on shapeshifting. Beings that can change into other people or animals," Dean said.

"Yeah, skinwalkers, wereanimals," Sam agreed.

"We've got at least two attacks within blocks of each other. I think we've got a shapeshifter on our hands," Dean declared.

"Tell me, in any lore you know of, can a shapeshifter fly?" Sam asked. "I picked up a trail here, but it deadends."

"There is one other way to go, other than up," Buffy pointed out, pointing her chin at the manhole cover at Sam's feet.

SPN/BtVS: Skin

Ten minutes later the three of them were climbing down the ladder, Dean in the rear. "I bet this leads right passed Zack's house," Sam said, stepping far enough away that Buffy could move out of Dean's way. "The shifter could be using the whole system to get around the city."

"A lot of things use the sewer system, all for differing reasons, but quick and hidden travel is the key reason," Buffy agreed.

"Look at this," Dean said, pointing at something behind Sam.

"What is it?" Buffy asked, taking out a knife and picking some of the substance up.

"Is it from its victims?" Sam asked.

"I just had a sick thought," Dean said, taking the knife from Buffy and taking a closer look. "When the shifter changes, maybe it sheds."

Buffy was suddenly glad she hadn't had breakfast. She was violently sick to her stomach. "That is sick," Sam agreed as Dean flung the sheded skin back where they found it.

SPN/BtVS: Skin

Dean opened the truck of the Impala with great excitement. "Well, if there's one thing I learned from Dad, it's that there's only one way to kill a shapeshifter of any kind."

"A silver bullet to the heart," Sam agreed, a small smile on his face as he accepted the gun that Dean handed him.

"That's right," Buffy said, adding her approval, taking the gun that Dean handed her.

Sam's phone rang and he stepped away to answer it. "This is Sam."

Buffy studied his face throughout the short conversation. Sam's face alternated from concerned to unhappy.

"I hate to say it, but this is exactly what I'm talking about," Dean began, walking over to him. "This would be a whole lot easier if you. . ."

"Were more like you?" Sam finished, dryly.

"Na, he's got me to mold in his image. You've got to be more like me," Buffy said.

"But you're just like him," Sam said, confused.

"Like it or not, we aren't like normal people. But this job isn't without perks." Dean grinned and handed Sam silver bullets. They loaded their weapons and headed back down to the sewers.

SPN/BtVS: Skin

They were down there for half an hour, Buffy leading the way. "I think we're close," Dean said after a while.

"What makes you say that?" Sam asked.

"Because of the pile of bile next to your face," Buffy answered. It was then that Sam noticed how far away Buffy was from the right side of the tunnel.

"Oh god." Sam turned his face away from the wall, and noticed a pile of clothes, with more piles of skin on and around them. "Looks like it's been here for a while."

"Who knows how many it killed," Buffy wondered. "How many innocent people he framed." She turned at a sudden noise and saw a man behind Dean. She cried her brother's name, squeezing off a few shots but missed.

The shifter punched Dean before Buffy could warn her brother then ran off. Sam, who was closer, walked over to Dean and tried to look at his shoulder. "Get the son of a bitch!" he yelled, pushing Sam off him. Sam looked back once before running after the shifter, Dean and Buffy not far behind.

The shifter led them out of the tunnels and into a public park. They pulled themselves through the manhole one by one, then Dean suggested splitting up. "We'll cover more ground that way."

"Alright. We'll meet at the car," Buffy said, running off toward the center of the park. Sam took the streets, and Dean took the back alleys.

Ten minutes later Dean and Sam ran into each other. "Find anything," Sam asked, trying to catch his breath.

"No, let's head back to the car," Dean said. Sam turned and started walking back to the car, so he didn't notice the silver glow to Dean's eyes.

SPN/BtVS: Skin

Buffy was certain that the shifter had run through the park. She was proven right five minutes later when she found a skin and discarded clothes. The guy was anyone, yet again. There was a tug in her gut, pulling her to the car, which gave her a frightening idea. What would happen if the shifter took one the form of one of her brothers? Who would it attack?

The obvious answer was her. She was the most important female to either Sam or Dean, with the exception of Jessica. Buffy cursed her stupidity at suggesting they split up. The shifter would find someone to hurt if it couldn't find her. Buffy didn't relish getting tortured, but she thought she'd rather it hurt her than someone in her place. Trying to bolster her courage, she walked back to the motel. No since in making it easy.

SPN/BtVS: Skin

Sam and the shifter reached the car after a short walk. "I didn't find anything. You don't think he could've gotten underground, do you?" he asked.

"That's likely," the shifter answered. "You got the keys?"

Sam stopped and looked over at his brother. Dean always had his keys on him, and his keyring was custom made out of silver, all their keyrings were silver. If Dean didn't have his car keys, then the being with him wasn't Dean. He was about to imply as much when his phone rang. "Yeah?"

"Dean's phone's off, and the shifter changed," Buffy's voice was hard to hear. "Be careful."

Sam hung up after Buffy did, and asked the shifter a trick question. "Didn't Dad fight a shapeshifter in San Antonio?"

"Na," the shifter responded, after a pause. "It was a thought form, remember?" In reality it wasn't either. There had been a necromancer who had been raiding funeral homes.

"Right! Here you go." Sam said, tossing the keys over. In the time it took for the shifter to both catch and drop the keys, Sam had taken out his gun and pointed it at the shifter. "Don't move! Where's my brother?"

"Dude, chill! It's me!" the shifter implored.

"No, I don't think so. You wouldn't have dropped the keys if you were. Where is my brother?" Sam shouted.

"You're about to shoot him!" the shifter insisted.

"You're not my brother," Sam said in an even tone.

"Why don't you pull the trigger then? 'Cause you're not sure!" The shifter walked closer, hitting Sam on the head before he could protest.

SPN/BtVS: Skin

It took Sam a few minutes to clear his head and get his bearings. He tried to move, but soon realized that he was tied up. The click of clip being shoved into a gun caught his attention and he saw the shifter, still in Dean's form, standing in front of him. "Where's my brother? Where's Dean!" Sam shouted.

"You don't really want to know," the shifter said, putting the gun in Dean's customary place, in his belt at his back. "I swear, the more I learn about your family, the more fucked up you guys are. Here I thought I had a messed up background."

"What do you mean, learn?" Sam asked.

The shifter grabbed his head and groaned, as if he were in pain. "He's sure got issues with you," the shifter said, sidestepping the question. "He had to stay at home. Oops, I mean _I_ had to stay at home. With Dad. You don't think I had dreams, things I wanted to do for myself?"

"Where's my brother?" Sam demanded.

"I _am_ your brother!" the shifter insisted. "See, deep down, I'm just jealous. You constantly whine about not having a normal life, but you got a chance at it! You got what you want. Me? I know I'm a freak, and sooner or later I'm going to be alone. It's just going to be me and Buffy,"

"What do you mean?" Sam asked.

"She's the only one who hasn't left me. You left, hell, I did everything Dad wanted me to do and he still ditched me!" the shifter yelled. "No explanation, just poof! Gone! But, still this life isn't without its perks. Take Buffy. She's one fine piece of ass. Dean won't leave her, not for anyone. She's the most important person in his life, besides you. Everyone he meets he compares to her, only those who measure up get past the one night stand."

"You stay away from her!" Sam shouted!

"Let's see how prettily little Buffy screams," the shifter cooed as he left.

SPN/BtVS: Skin

Buffy was lounging on her bed reading a book when she got a tug from her gut. She knew that the shifter would come after her, and she was as ready as she could be. Silver jewelry adorned her wrists and neck. Her silver knife was at her side, and her gun was within arms reach. What she wasn't prepared for was which brother's face the shifter took.

Dean's face greeted her as the shifter opened the door with a key, she assumed, Dean had kept in his pocket. "Hey Buff," the shifter greeted, shutting the door.

Dean had never called her 'Buff', not even when they were kids, and that's when Buffy knew for sure that whatever this thing did to become another person could be fought. Dean was somehow sending the shifter false information that no one who didn't know him well would catch.

"Hey," she greeted, closing her book. "Any luck?"

"Not really, it caught Sammy before I could find it," the shifter said. Convenient cover story, but, again, something that Dean would never do, unless he needed backup.

Living you entire life with someone by your side from day one taught everything about a person, even things that people wouldn't normally notice. It was the tiny, almost nonexistent quirks that Dean had that constantly told Buffy that the being in front of her wasn't her brother, even if the being had his face. Dean was always scanning her and Sam, constantly trying to convince himself that both of them were happy and unharmed. He scanned a room tens of times trying to find every possible entrance and exit, on the off chance that they had to make a break for it, or get in without anyone seeing. If this were Dean, he would've given her a hug, just to check for hidden wounds he said, but Buffy knew it was because he was scared of being alone.

The being in front of her did none of those things. He stared at her with a longing expression, as if he wanted to throw her to the bed. The way the shifter was looking at her made Buffy feel like a bloody steak waiting to be grilled.

"Is Sam alright?" Buffy asked, after a pause.

"He's fine, over at Becky's," the shifter answered. "I thought we could use the time alone."

The shifter started walking toward her, keeping his eyes on her face. Buffy shifted to keep him in front of her, which revealed the gun and knife.

"You're a quick study," the shifter said when he spotted the weapons. "Who are you going to use those on?"

"You. You're not my brother," Buffy answered, grabbing the knife. She preferred knives to guns, felt it was more personal.

"What gave it away?" the shifter asked, sounding genuinely curious.

"I've spent my whole life with Dean, I spent at most two months away from him my entire life. When you spend 26 years with a person, you tend to learn things about them. You missed all the little things," Buffy answered. "That and I found your pervious skin at the park."

The shifter grinned before lungeing at Buffy. She dodged the attack, swinging out with her knife. The shifter screamed in rage when the knife tore across his chest before backhanding Buffy, causing her to fall to the floor in surprise. The shifter was stronger than she had expected. He grabbed her and pulled her into a standing position. "You bitch!" he hissed, backhanding her again, and pushing her into a chair.

She raised her hand to strike again, but the shifter caught her wrist and twisted it around, making her drop the knife. Buffy did the only thing she could do, she opened her mouth and screamed. "Help! Help me! He. . oohmp!"

The shifter had pulled out a pair of socks and stuffed them into her mouth, followed by duct tape. Buffy swung her arms and legs, refusing to go quietly. The shifter got impatient and picked up a lamp and crashed it on her head. "That's better," he said, grinning as he tied her up.

SPN/BtVS: Skin

"Damn it!" groaned Sam, as he struggled to reach the knife in his back pocket.

"That better be you, Sammy, and not that son of a bitch!" Dean's voice drifted toward Sam from the other end of the room.

"Yeah, it's me. He's gone after Buffy, looking like you," Sam said, renewing his struggle.

"She'll be okay. Goddamn it, she better be okay," Dean muttered. "At least he chose the handsome one."

"That's the thing," Sam said, still not able to reach his knife. "It was you, or it was becoming you."

There was a soft impact in the other end of the room and Dean stepped into Sam's line of sight. "What do you mean?"

Sam shook his head as Dean cut through his ropes. "I don't know, man, it's like he was downloading your memories."

"You mean like a mind meld?" Dean asked, checking Sam over, making sure that he was unhurt as the ropes fell tot the floor.

Sam stood up. "Something like that, I mean, maybe that's why didn't he just kill us."

"He needs me alive to tell him how to best be me?" Dean asked, taking in their surroundings and finally recognizing where they were, the sewer, near where they first encountered the shifter.

"Yeah, maybe." Sam said. "Any idea how to get out of here?"

SPN/BtVS: Skin

"We've got to call the police," Sam insisted when they got back to fresh air.

"Whoa! You're going to put a APB out on me?" Dean asked.

"You have a better idea?" Sam asked. "How are we supposed to let Buffy know?"

"She'll know already," Dean said. "There's nothing about her that I don't know, and the same goes for her. She'd be able to find the real me in the dark, blindfolded."

SPN/BtVS: Skin

The shifter had talked to her as he carved into her. Stories that she knew weren't from Dean's life flowed from the shifter. Stories about loneliness and being tortured, about no one understanding.

"So I have to dish out pain to make others understand," he concluded. "I tried to make people understand, tried to fit in, but people like you never taught me how. I was always alone. But I've gotten pretty good at making people sing for me."

He stabbed viciously into her arm, dragging the blade down. She bit back a scream, tears flowing down her face. The only consolation Buffy had was she knew without a doubt that this wasn't Dean. Dean didn't hate her. He loved her more than he loved anything else, even more than Dad or Sam, because she never left him and didn't let him leave her.

The shifter raised his arm to carve some more but was caught off guard when he caught the sound of guns cocking and feet approaching the motel room. He lowered his knife and tossed it on one of the beds. He disappeared through the ventilation shaft as the door was kicked in by police.

SPN/BtVS: Skin

Sam and Dean were walking by an electronics store when the televisions in the window, which were tuned to a local station, started the eleven o'clock news. "After a few calls from various patrons, and the manager, the police stormed into a local hotel, where the S.W.A.T team found a woman from out of town bound and gagged. Her attacker, a white male, approximately six feet tall, 24-30 years of age, with dark hair and blue eyes, had fled the scene through the air vent as police stormed in. Anyone with news of this attacker should call police. Suspect is considered armed and dangerous," the anchor reported. A sketch of Dean, with some minor differences, was displayed as the reporter described the shifter. "The woman had been taken to a local hospital for treatment."

"That's not even a good picture," Dean complained, pointing to the television.

"Be grateful it's not one from her wallet," Sam said. "And it's close enough. Let's go."

Dean shook his head, muttering to himself under his breath.

Sam turned to him, "They said attempted murder, Buffy's still alive."

"Thank god!" Dean exclaimed.

"Where should we look to find him?" Sam asked.

"He went after Buffy because she was important to us. The only other woman we know in town is. . ." Dean began.

"Rebecca! Do you think he's going to go after her?" Sam asked.

"It would fit, unfortunately," Dean sighed.

"We've got to get there first!" Sam exclaimed.

"I know, but we have no weapons, no silver, no nothing!" Dean yelled in frustration.

"The car?" Sam asked.

"You think he drove to the hotel?" Dean asked.

"It was within walking distance, probably not," Sam said. "so the car should be where we left it."

"Thank god! I would've had to kill something if it had touched my car!" Dean declared. Sam rolled his eyes.

SPN/BtVS: Skin

Buffy blinked, trying to place where she was. The room was sterile white, and the smell on antiseptic told her that she was in a hospital. She quickly took stock of what she was wearing. A paper thing gown covered her front, and another one covered her back. An IV was in her hand, attached to a pole with a bag of blood and saline solution.

All of her small and shallow cuts were pale pink and barely there. The only cuts that weren't completely healed was the deep on from her left shoulder to the middle of her upper arm and a bite mark on her neck. The arm wound looked like it wouldn't scar visibly, the bite on the other hand, looked pretty bad.

She pulled out all the tubes, needles and monitoring equipment out or off her body and looked around for her clothes. She needed to get back out there. The description she gave the police of the shifter matched that of her brother, but was off on the minor details, like his hair and eye color. It didn't matter what description she gave, it would change shortly after leaving anyway. It would go after the hunters through what it saw as a weak link, Rebecca Warren, and that's who it would go after next.

She found her clothes, but they were covered in blood. There was no way that she would be able to get out of the hospital wearing her shirt. The jeans weren't too bad, almost completely without blood. She pulled out a few drawers in the dresser and found her overnight bag. Quickly, she pulled out another shirt, and old one of Dean's, and put it on. Socks, followed by her ankle boots, went on next.

Buffy stuffed everything back in her bag and grabbed her medical chart and throwing it into her bag before walking out the door, ignoring the doctors, nurses, and police officers calling for her to stop.

SPN/BtVS: Skin

Sam and Dean made it a block from the Rebecca's house before they ran into the cops. Sam urged Dean to go. The cops couldn't hold Sam on anything. Dean ran and hid until Sam drew the cops away. He spotted Sam's keys on the ground and picked them up, using them to open the trunk. He grabbed his favorite gun and grabbed a few bullets.

He was going back to the shifter's nest. Maybe the next person it was impersonating was in there. It took a few minutes to get his bearings, and fifteen more before he found the place again. There was a whimpering coming from the place where the shifter hid. He carefully walked over to the whimpering bundle and lifted the cover. Rebecca was there, wide-eyed and fearful.

SPN/BtVS: Skin

Sam got away from the cops easily enough, and made his way to Rebecca's again. He started explaining to Rebecca what was going on. "So this shapeshifter could be anyone? And it stole Zack's form and killed Lindsey?"

"Yeah, that's right," Sam confirmed, accepting the beer that Rebecca handed him.

"So, how would you get rid of one?" she asked, taking a sip of her beer.

"Silver bullet to the heart," Sam said, turning his back on Rebecca.

"You are crazy," was the last thing Sam heard her say, before a bottle hit his head and his world went black.

SPN/BtVS: Skin

Buffy's first stop was her motel room. She grabbed her knife and gun, which she was surprised the police didn't take. She grabbed all of their bags and put her knife and gun back to where they belonged. The last place she remembered the car was near Zack's house, so that would be the first place she would go. She still had her keys, so she would drop off their things then drive to Rebecca's house.

SPN/BtVS: Skin

Dean untied the ropes binding Rebecca's hands. "The last thing I remember is walking home. The next thing I see is that thing turning into me."

"We've got to get to your place," Dean said, untying her feet. "Sam went to talk to you."

SPN/BtVS: Skin

Sam, tied up and on the floor, stared at the shifter, who was once again in the form of his older brother. "What are you going to do to me?" Sam asked.

"I'm not going to do anything, Dean will though," the shifter sneered.

"They'll never catch him," Sam laughed.

The shifter poured himself a glass of scotch, then picked up a butcher knife. "Doesn't matter. He'll be wanted for the murder of his little brother, and for the attack on his sister. He'll never be a free man again!"

"You son of a bitch!" Sam hissed.

"There is one thing, I'll be sorry to loose this skin. Your brother's got a lot of good qualities, you should appreciate him more, like Buffy does." the shifter plunged the knife into the pool table, in the corner nearest to Sam.

Sam took the opportunity and kicked the shifter in the stomach as soon as he got close enough. Sitting up, Sam reached up to the knife and quickly cut through the ropes, jumping to his feet, just as the shifter was getting to his.

Sam swung a fist at the shifter, who caught it. The shifter twisted his arm around, causing Sam to fall to the ground. "You son of a bitch!" the shifter shouted.

Sam jumped to his feet, throwing a quick series of punches to the shifter, most of which was blocked. The shifter got under his defense and threw him into a nearby bookcase. Sam was groaning on the floor when someone new joined the battle.

"No one beats on my brother, except for me," Buffy declared in a steely tone Sam had never heard before. Buffy advanced on the shifter, this time more than ready for it. "You like dishing out pain because no one loved you?" Buffy taunted, throwing it to the ground.

The shifter attacked Buffy, getting beat back every time, until it got lucky. It tripped Buffy and she landed hard on the floor. He pulled her up by her neck, cutting off her air. Buffy struggled to reach either her knife or gun, but the angle was too awkward.

"Hey!" a voice shouted. The shifter dropped her and started backing away. Two gunshots rang out and the shifter dropped. Dean stepped into the room, Rebecca right behind him. Dean went straight to Buffy pulling her into a strangling hug.

He passed Buffy to Sam after a few minutes and walked to the shifter's body. He took the necklace Sam had given him for Christmas fifteen years ago from around the shifter neck and put it back where it belonged.

SPN/BtVS: Skin

The next morning, Sam, Buffy, and Dean stopped in front of Rebecca's house. Buffy and Dean had a map spread out on the hood of the Impala, trying to decide where to go next, while Sam was closing one stage of his life.

"So, this is what you do?" Rebecca asked, hugging Sam.

"Yeah, for the most part," Sam agreed.

"Did Jess know?"

"No, not really," Sam said sadly.

"Must be lonely."

"It's really not that bad. We've got the best relationship I've ever seen people have with each other. It's the family business," Sam shrugged.

"Well, if you ever decide to go back, I know they're missing you," she said. "Call sometime?"

"Sure thing," Sam said, then walked back to the car.

"So, what about Zack?" Dean asked.

"It's a funny thing, they're blaming this Dean Winchester guy for all the murders. They found clothes and blood at his place. Zack's going to be released soon," Sam smiled.

Sam got into the back seat, letting Buffy sit shotgun. No one said anything until they were on the interstate. "I'm sorry, man. I'm sorry that you can't be Joe Normal," Dean said, glancing from the rear view mirror to the road and back.

"Don't worry about it. I never really fit in anyway," Sam laughed.

"That's cause you're a freak," Dean said.

"Don't worry, you're our freak," Buffy added, leaning her head on Dean's shoulder.

SPN/BtVS: Skin

"Buffy found herself in a mess," the first said, opening the meeting.

"How and where?" the fourth demanded.

"St. Louis. Shapeshifter. One was in the area and they come and found it. Took the form of the older one. . ." the first answered. "What's his name?"

"Dean," the third said.

"Yeah, that. He was accused of killing several women, including an attack on his sister, and was found dead in another woman's house after breaking in," the first said, reading off of a newspaper, handing it to the fourth.

"His sister?" the third asked. "That might answer the question about their relationship."

"It also might mean that she was raised by the same people. We have no reason to suspect anything at the time being," the fourth pointed out.

"We better get something so we can be sure!" the second insisted. "It seems like we're at a standstill until we get proof!"

"There's no way we can get a sample from either brother, they move too fast," the third said.

"Is there any chance that Buffy might be in danger?" the fifth asked. "You did say that this Dean person was accused of torturing people."

"At least two happened before they hit town. Buffy's as safe as she could be, leading the life she does," the first dismissed.

"We need to direct them into a hunt, then have one of us discreetly collect samples," the third suggested.

"How do we do that?" the fifth asked.

"Well, we've had two years to come up with a pattern of hunts that Buffy chose to do. We use that, as well as a list of potential hunts, to guess which one she and the boys will go to next. We'll split into pairs and go hang around until we know that they didn't choose our hunt," the third suggested.

"Sounds like a good idea," the fourth agreed. "I'll stay and coordinate, and keep Lisa away. Let me know as soon as you've found a hunt you can live with and then go. Keep in mind that you won't know Buffy's in town because of her name. They'll use aliases."


	6. Home

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SPN/BtVS: Home

Dean tapped the keyboard on Buffy's computer. After this past few weeks, he wanted something relatively easy. He had never has a fear of bugs, but after spending the night on cursed land, they gave him the creeps. Buffy was taking a shower and Sam was doodling on the bed.

Buffy was mostly over the shapeshifter incident, but in the beginning she had nightmares, different than the ones she had before. Since he and Sam refused to share a bed and she usually shared with Dean, she crawled in with Sam in the beginning. It took her a few days for their usual routine to go back to normal, but it had about two weeks ago. Buffy hadn't gotten another nightmare, at all, since things had gotten back to normal

Buffy stepped out of the bathroom wearing worn out pajama pants and one of Sam's t-shirts. She yawned and collapsed on the bed she shared with Dean. Dean smiled. His family was together, minus Dad, and it finally felt like they were going to make it.

Ten minutes later Buffy started thrashing in her sleep, like she was pressing against something, trying to get someone's attention, and they were far away. She went still as suddenly as she started thrashing, then woke up.

"Are you alright?" Dean asked. This was her first fit since they left Oklahoma.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Buffy insisted, sitting up and accepting the water Sam handed her.

"If you say so," Sam said, small smirk on his face.

"I found a few potential hunts, a missing crew of a fishing trawler, a man who shot himself in the head three times, and some cattle mutilations in Texas. Sam, are you listening?" Dean asked as he looked up.

Sam was engrossed in his doodle. "I've seen this before."

"What is it?" Buffy asked, holding a hand out for his drawing pad. It was a tree, slightly crooked and leaning to the left, one Buffy hadn't seen in twenty-two years.

"This is the tree outside of the house," Buffy said, causing both her brothers to look at her in confusion. "I remember watering it with miracle grow when I was little. He used to call it the Angel Tree, Dad and I took care of it while we were there."

"We have to go home," Sam blurted out.

This time Buffy and Dean's heads rounded to him. "Where?" Dean asked.

"Back home, to Kansas!" Sam said.

"Where did that come from?" Dean demanded.

Sam took Dad's journal from the bedside table and flipped through it, pausing at a picture of all of them, Mom included, outside of their house in Lawrence, Kansas. In the background was a tree, one that was remarkably similar to the one Sam had drawn. Sam turned the journal around, showing the picture to Buffy and Dean. "This photo was taken in front of our old house, right? The one where Mom died?"

"Yeah, so what?" Dean demanded.

"The house didn't burn down, I mean, they rebuilt it, right?" Sam asked.

"Yeah," Dean agreed. "Your point?"

"We've got to go back. The people currently living there are in trouble," Sam said.

"What?" Dean demanded.

"How do you know?" Buffy asked.

"You're just going to have to trust me, alright?" Sam shouted, turning his back on his older siblings to pack.

"Trust you? You got to give me more than that!" Dean insisted, following Sam.

"Sam, did you have a vision?" Buffy asked. Both brothers stopped in their tracks.

Dean knew about Buffy getting visions. She didn't get them often, she had a total of three since they started two years. Her visions had led them on hunts that their father had explained were related to either the Demon or something called the Watcher's Council.

Dad told them that this Council had tried to take Buffy away when she was young, a few years after the fire, but he had refused to let them. His kids were all he had left, and he wasn't going to let them take anyone else away from him. Those people, who claimed to be Watchers of the Slayer, had told them that Buffy had great potential to become a Slayer and that she needed training, training that only the Council could provide. Dad chased them off, then moved the family to another town. Buffy had never been Called, as far as she knew, but she had been trained as much as they boys had, and had little extra pushes or materials in places.

"More like a dream or a nightmare," Sam corrected. "I have one, and then they come true." Sam sat down, holding his head in his hands.

"What?" Dean demanded.

"I dreamt about Jessica's death for days before it actually happened," Sam confessed. "I dreamt about the look on her face, the way her body was arranged, the color of her blood as it fell to the floor."

"Oh, god," Buffy whispered, horrified. Then she got ahold of herself. "Did you dream of a woman trying to get out of a second story window? Pounding on it, trying to get someone's attention?"

"Yeah. You had it too?" Sam asked.

"It looks like it," Buffy said.

"NO! Absolutely not!" Dean yelled. "I swore to myself that I wouldn't go back there!" A single tear was making its way down his face.

"We've got to check this out. It might be related to the thing that killed Mom," Sam insisted.

"I know."

SPN/BtVS: Home

The next afternoon, the three of them were sitting in front of their old house. "It looks smaller than I remember," Buffy commented.

"We were last here when we were five. We were a lot smaller then," Dean said.

"You gonna be alright, man?" Sam asked.

Dean took a deep breath. "Ask me later, alright?" The three of them got out of the car and Sam led the way up the front walk. He reached the door first and rang the doorbell.

A woman with light brown hair came to the door. She was dressed in jeans with a red knit sweater. "Yes?" she asked.

Sam stared at her for a minute before Buffy pushed him out of the way. "Hello. My name is Buffy, these are my brothers Dean and Sam. We used to live here. We were passing through and thought we might be able to look around, for old times sake."

"Your last name wouldn't happen to be Winchester, would it?" she asked.

"Yes, it would," Dean nodded.

"I found some of your old pictures the other night, Come in. My name's Jenny."

"Thank you, very much," Buffy said, entering the house, Sam and Dean behind her.

Jenny led them to the spacious kitchen, where a little boy around three was jumping in a playpen. "Juice! Juice! Juice!" he cried.

"That's my son, Ritchie. He's a bit of a juice junckie," Jenny introduced, handing him a sippy cup. "This is my daughter, Sari." Jenny gestured to the young girl sitting at the table working on something. "Sari, this is Sam, Dean, and Buffy. They used to live here.

"Hey," Sari greeted, giving the Winchesters a small wave.

Dean smiled and waved. Buffy bowed her head and Sam said, "Hey."

Dean looked around and noticed all the boxes. "You just move in?"

"Is it that obvious?" Jenny asked.

"Where from?" Buffy asked.

"Wichita," Jenny answered. "I needed a fresh start, so new town, new house, soon to be new job, the works!"

"How are you liking the place so far?" Sam asked.

Jenny laughed. "With all do respect to your childhood home, this place has its issues."

"Every place has its quirks," Buffy laughed.

Dean's face became serious. "Like what?"

"Lights flickering, the sink's backed up, something that sounds like rats," Jenny listed.

"You mean you haven't seen them?" Sam asked. "The rats," he clarified.

"No, there's just been scratching," Jenny said.

"Mom," Sari called, pulling at Jenny's shirt. "Ask them if it was here when they were here."

"What?" Buffy asked, kneeling down to the girl's level.

"The thing in my closet," she answered.

"There was nothing in their closets, honey," Jenny said, looking pointedly at the Winchesters. "Right?"

"Right, it's nothing," Sam agreed.

"She had a nightmare the other night," Jenny tried to excuse.

"I wasn't dreaming! It came into my room, on fire." Sari's words made the Winchesters look up in surprise.

SPN/BtVS: Home

"You hear that!" Sam insisted. "A figure on fire!"

"And Jenny was the woman of your dreams?" Dean asked. Buffy hit him upside the head. "Ow!"

"Yeah, and did you hear what she was talking about?" Sam asked. Buffy shook her head. Sam hadn't noticed Dean's 'slip'. "All of the things she was talking about are signs of a malevolent spirit."

"I'm just freaked that your weirdo visions are coming true," Dean said.

"Mine are more like warnings than actual cases," Buffy said.

"Yeah, but those warnings led to some pretty important cases," Dean insisted.

"Forget about that for a moment!" Sam shouted. "The thing in the house, do you think that it could be he thing that killed Mom?"

"I don't know!" Dean insisted.

"Has it come back or has it been here the whole time?" Sam went on.

"Or maybe it's something else! We don't know!" Dean shouted.

"These people are in danger! We've got to do something!" Sam insisted.

"Sam, we know," Buffy said, turning him to face her. "We will help them, but first we've got to find out what we're fighting."

SPN/BtVS: Home

Dean pulled into a gas station not far from the house. He got out and put the gas nozzle into the tank and began to pump. "We've got to approach this like it were any other job. What would we do first?" he asked.

"We'd look into the history of the house," Sam said, calming down as Dean took charge.

"Exactly, except we know what happened here already," Dean said.

"Do we really?" Sam asked. "You were four. How much of that night do you remember?"

"When something that traumatic happens, you tend to remember every detail," Buffy said.

SPN/BtVS: Home

_She and Dean were helping Mommy make dinner when Daddy got home. It was tacos with rice and salad, something that Dean refused to eat, at all, and she liked only if it was made of fruit. Daddy kissed Mommy on the cheek before sweeping Dean into a hug, picking him off the floor, making him giggle._

"_Daddy! Daddy, put me down!" Dean cried through his laughter._

"_Alright, sport. What about you, Annabeth, you want a hug?" Daddy asked, gently placing Dean on his feet. Annabeth rushed at her father and grabbed him tightly as he dutifully spun her around. "Were the two of you good for your mother?"_

"_They were perfect," Mommy said, smiling. A crying sound coming from the kitchen counter distracted her. "Looks like Sammy's awake," she said, turning to the baby monitor._

"_Let me get him!" Annabeth insisted._

"_Tell you what, you can come with me, alright?" Mommy asked. Annabeth reached for her mother and Daddy handed her over and turned his attention to Dean._

_Daddy picked Dean up and put him in his chair. Mommy, Sammy and Annabeth were down quickly and they began eating. _

"_Buffy and I found a frog today, Daddy," Dean said, as he stuffed his food into his face._

"_Oh yeah? Where?" Daddy asked._

"_Momma's garden," Annabeth answered. "It was this big!" She held her hands two feet apart._

"_Really!" Daddy laughed._

_Dinner was over quickly and Daddy sent Dean and Annabeth to the playroom. They played together alone until Mommy and Daddy finished the news and came to join them. Mommy gave them both a bath, then at nine she brought them upstairs to say goodnight to Sammy. "Say goodnight, sweetheart," Mommy whispered to Dean as she held him so he could reach Sam._

"_Night Sam," Dean repeated, leaning down as far as he could and kissing his brother on the forehead. _

"_My turn!" Annabeth insisted._

"_But you said goodnight first," Mommy said._

"_Please!" Annabeth begged, and Mommy gave in. "Night Sammy!" she called. _

_Daddy walked in and Dean ran to him "You think Sammy's big enough to through a football yet?" he asked, picking Dean up._

"_No!" Dean laughed._

"_I got him," Daddy said, walking out of the room._

"_Good night, love," Mommy said, kissing Sam on the forehead. Turning from the room to see Annabeth standing just inside the door Mommy said, "Time for you to get to bed, missy!"_

_She picked up Annabeth and followed Daddy to the room that Dean shared with Annabeth. She read Annabeth a story and tucked both of her twins into bed. Mommy then took a shower and went to bed. It was a usual night in the Winchester house._

_It all changed at one o'clock that morning. Annabeth crawled into her mother's bed, claiming to have had a bad dream, one where Momma died on the ceiling, covered in flames. Mommy pulled Annabeth into her arms. "All it was was a bad dream," Mommy said._

"_It was so real, Momma," Annabeth cried._

"_It was a bad dream," Mommy repeated. Sam started to make noise through the baby monitor. "Want to check on Sam with me?"_

_Little Annabeth nodded her head and the two of them got out of bed and walked slowly to Sam's room. A figure was standing in front of the crib._

"_John? You got everything?" Mommy asked. _

_The figure looked over its shoulder and whispered, "Shhh!"_

"_Okay. Maybe in the morning, Buffy," Mommy said, turning around and pulling Annabeth back to her room. "Go back to sleep, love."_

_Annabeth nodded and Mommy tucked her in again. Mommy heard noises downstairs and walked down, to see Daddy asleep in front of the TV. She ran back upstairs and confronted the man in front of Sam's crib. _

_Annabeth quickly got out of bed and woke up Dean. The two of them ran into the hall and ran into Daddy, who had Sam in his arms. "Take your brother and run outside as fast as you can! Now, Dean, Buffy! GO!" he ordered, shoving Sam into Dean's arms._

_The two turned tail and ran outside. They made it across the street before Daddy joined them, without Mommy._

SPN/BtVS: Home

"I remember the fire, the heat, Buffy waking me up, and them I carried you out the front door," Dean answered.

"You did?" Sam asked, awed.

"Yeah. You never knew that?" Dean asked.

"I always assumed it was Buffy," Sam admitted. "Ever since that night, she's the only mother I've ever known."

"Yeah, well, I was fascinated with you when we were little. Because of that, I was the only one who knew how to take care of you. Dad was out of it for a long time after the fire," Buffy said. "He couldn't do it, so I did it, with a huge amount of help from Dean."

"You know Dad's story as well as we do," Dean rushed, trying to push the discussion away from a 'chick flick' moment. "Mom was. . . on the ceiling, and whatever put her there was long gone by the time Dad found her."

"He never had a theory about what did it?" Sam asked.

"If he does, he hasn't shared it yet," Buffy huffed.

"If we're going to find out what's happening now, we've got to find out what happened then," Sam concluded. "To see if it's the same thing."

"Yeah. We'll talk to Dad's friends, neighbors, people who were at the time," Dean agreed.

Sam looked up at Dean. "Does this feel like another job to you?"

Buffy looked from Dean to Sam. Dean was barely keeping it together. This had shaken him more than he wanted to admit. Her suspicions were confirmed when Dean made an excuse to leave. Sam took it at face value, but Buffy knew better.

She followed Dean, giving him room when he made a tearful plea for help to Dad. Dad wasn't going to do anything, or if he did he wouldn't make contact. Dean snapped the phone closed, close to tears. Buffy walked closer so she was standing behind him. Dean turned around and pulled her into an almost painful hug. "I don't know to do," he said in a soft voice.

"You don't have to be the strong one all the time, Dean," Buffy whispered.

"Yes, I do," he whispered back.

SPN/BtVS: Home

Two hours later, Buffy, Dean, and Sam were standing in the garage that their father used to co-own. "Mr, Guenther, you and John used to own this place, correct?" Dean asked.

"Yeah. It's been about twenty years since I last saw him," Guenther said, wiping his hand on an oilcloth. "Why are the police interested?"

"We're reopening some of our old cases, and the Winchester disappearance is one of them," Dean answered.

"What do you want to know?" Guenther asked.

"What do you remember about him?" Sam asked.

"He was a stubborn bastard, hated to loose," he answered, smiling. "He wouldn't stop talking about his kids. I never saw a prouder father. His daughter had him wrapped around her finger, her brother too."

"That was before the fire?" Sam asked.

"Yeah. He had a sudden change after that. Said that something got into the house and killed Mary, that it was going to go after his kids. I begged him to get help, but he didn't listen," Guenther answered. "He started going to palm readers and reading really old books."

"Do you know which palm reader?" Buffy asked.

"No, why would I?" he scoffed.

SPN/BtVS: Home

"We need a phonebook," Sam said, then pointed out a phone booth to Dean.

"No, we don't," Buffy said. "I know which one he went to."

"How?" Dean asked.

"Remember that friend of Dad's who's helped me with my dreams? Her name is Missouri Mosley, and she lives here, in Lawrence."

"You didn't think to mention that earlier?" Dean grumbled.

"I didn't think to ask how she met Dad, but this has to to be how," Buffy answered, ignoring both of her brothers' sudden bad moods.

SPN/BtVS: Home

Sam looked up Missouri's address in the phonebook and Dean drove to a tidy Cape Cod house on a suburban street. It was yellow with neatly trimmed hedges on either side of the door. Buffy led the way up the stairs and into the house, sitting on a couch in the entrance hall. Ten minutes after Sam and Dean sat down, a motherly looking black woman came through a door, escorting a older man out. "Don't worry about anything, you're wife's crazy about you!" she said as she opened the door and gently pushed the man through the door. When she shut the door, she leaned against it and said, "Poor bastard, his wife's banging the gardner."

"Why didn't you tell him?" Dean asked, confused.

"Boy, people don't come here for the truth, they come for good news!" Missouri scolded lightly. When she headed back the way she came, Buffy got up and started to follow. Sam and Dean stayed seated, confused. "What do you need, and engraved invitation? Sam and Dean, come on already, I don't have all day!"

Buffy laughed at the annoyed look on Dean's face and the surprised look on Sam's before quickly turning to follow Missouri. The three of them fanned around the woman and Missouri gave each one a once over. "Well, lemme look at ya. It's been a long time, You boys grew up handsome, and you were a goofy lookin' kid too," she said to Dean. Buffy and Sam gave small laughs as Dean glared at Missouri. "Buffy, darlin', your time's comin'. I hope you'll be able to handle it all. Sam," Missouri turned to the youngest Winchester, taking his hand, "Oh, honey, I'm sorry about your girlfriend." There was a slight pause. "Your father, he's missin'?"

Sam and Dean stared at Missouri in surprise. "How did you know all that?" Sam asked.

"Well, you were thinking it, just now," Missouri said, as if that explained everything. For Buffy, it did. Dad had told her to talk to Missouri about her dreams, and over the past two years, she had been a lot of help, even if she hadn't spoken to her since Dad left her.

"Well, where is he!"Dean demanded, worried. "Is he okay?"

"I don't know," Missouri answered thoughtfully.

"You don't know!" Dean scoffed. "You're supposed to be psychic!"

Missouri's happy smile became a glare. "Boy, you see me sawin' some tramp in half? You think I'm a magician? I may be able to read thoughts and sense energies in a room, but I can't just pull facts out of thin air!" she pointed to a couch across from the chair that she was heading to. "Sit please."

The three of them sat down and settled on the couch. "So, our Dad, how did you meet him?" Sam asked.

"I guessed it was soon after the fire," Buffy said.

"Yes, it was. He came in for a reading a few days afterwards, holding your hand, Buffy. I told him what was really out there in the dark, and I learned about what you did. Your father beat himself up for a long time when I told him," Missouri said.

"Told him what?" Sam asked.

"That I saw what was going to happen," Buffy answered. "It was the first one I had. I didn't know what it meant, and it scared me."

"It's not your fault, and you will stop feeling bad about it," Missouri demanded.

"Do you know anything about it?" Sam asked.

"A little. Your daddy took me to your house, hoping I could get a reading on the echos of the thing. But I got more from his little girl than I did from that house," Missouri said. "You are destined for something important, and this plays a big part of it."

"I don't want to be a part of it," Buffy whispered frowning. Dean pulled her into a hug.

"You have no choice. I'm sorry," Missouri said, sadly. "You think something's back at your house?"

"Yeah," Sam nodded.

"I had a vivid dream about it, so did Sam," Buffy added.

"I don't understand," Missouri shook her head.

"What?" Dean barked, impatient.

"I've been keepin' an eye on the place, not goin' in, but keeping an eye out, and it's been quiet. No sudden deaths or freak accidents. Why would it act up now?" Missouri asked.

"I don't know, but one thing's for sure, Dad missing, Jess's death, the house, this isn't random chance," Buffy said.

"It feels like something's just starting," Sam agreed.

"Well, that's a comforting thought!" Dean grumbled.

SPN/BtVS: Home

Buffy rang the doorbell this time. Jenny answered after a few minutes, looking harried and tired. "Hey, Jenny,", Buffy said, waving.

"This is our friend Missouri. We were hoping we could show her the old place," Sam said.

Jenny glanced around at the four of them and shook her head. "I don't think this is a good time."

Dean stepped forward. "Listen, this is im. . ." he began but was cut off when Missouri smacked him in the head.

"Hold your tongue, boy! Can't you see that she's upset!" Missouri scolded. Turning to Jenny, she continued. "Please excuse him. He means well, but he's not the sharpest tool in the shed. But hear us out."

"About what?" Jenny asked, a concerned look on her face.

"About this house," Buffy answered in a soft voice.

"You can feel it, can't you? There's something here that wants to hurt you and your family," Missouri asked.

"Who are you?" Jenny demanded, frightened.

"We're people who can help, but you're going to have to trust us, just a little."

SPN/BtVS: Home

Missouri led the three of them up the stairs and into the room on the right side of the hall. "If there's any bad energies in this house, this should be the center of it," she said, leading the way into a bedroom.

"Why?" Sam asked.

"This used to be your nursery, Sam," Buffy answered. "There's something here."

Dean pulled out an EMF and began to sweep the room, ignoring Missouri's scoff of "Amateur."

"I don't know if you should be disappointed or relieved, but this isn't the thing that took your mom," Missouri continued.

"I didn't think so. It feels different," Buffy agreed.

"You can feel it?" Dean asked.

"I can feel something," Buffy answered, her eyes closed. Sam stood beside her and closed his eyes. He could feel something too, but it was vague, like trying to see through fog.

"This isn't the same energy I felt the last time I was here, this is something different," Missouri continued.

"What is it?" Sam asked.

"Not it," Missouri denied, opening the closet door and looking around. "Them. There's more than one spirit in this place."

"What are they doing here?" Dean asked.

She came out of the closet and glanced around the room again. "They're here because of what happened to your family. You see, all those years ago, real evil came to you. That kind of evil leaves wounds, and wounds can become infected."

"I don't understand," Sam said.

"This place is a magnet of paranormal activity. It's attracted a poltergeist, a nasty one. It won't rest until Jenny and her family is dead."

"You said there was more than one," Sam prompted.

"There is, I just can't make out the second one," Missouri said, shaking her head.

"Well, whatever they are, no one's dying in this house, not again. So we're going to do whatever we have to to keep it that way," Dean declared.

SPN/BtVS: Home

Buffy and Dean were seated at Missouri's kitchen table, making up hex bags. Sam was in the corner reading, and Missouri was giving instructions. "What exactly is this stuff?" Dean asked.

"Angelica root, Van Van oil, crossroad dirt, and a few other odds and ends," Missouri answered.

"What are we going to do with it?" Buffy asked, tying up a bag and tossing it to the older woman.

"We're going to put them in the walls of her house at the cardinal corners on each floor of the house," Missouri answered.

"Jenny will love her new holes," Dean scoffed.

"She'll live," Missouri and Buffy answered.

"And that will destroy the poltergeist?" Sam asked.

"It will purify the house, hopefully, but we'll have to work fast. Once they know what we're up to, things will get bad," Missouri warned.

SPN/BtVS: Home

The four of them were standing on the front doorstep an hour later, trying to convince Jenny to leave. As it turned out, Missouri was very hard to argue with. "Just take your kids to a movie or something. It should all be over when you get back, " Missouri said as she gently pushed Jenny out the front door. When she got back, she gave Sam, Dean, and Buffy their floor assignments.

Buffy got the second floor, south corner, which turned out to be Jenny's bedroom. She quickly found the southern most corner and started looking for the studs, so she wouldn't try breaking them. She managed to make the hole, which was as close to the floor as she could manage, before the poltergeist tried anything on her.

She felt something move behind her and ducked, rolling away, just as a lamp cord attempted to wrap around the air where her throat had been a few seconds later. Unfortunately, the roll took her farther away from her goal, than closer, and the poltergeist was, figuratively, between her and the wall. The hex bag was still in her hand, so she turned to the next best wall and started to work on that one.

This time it was a pillow that attacked her, but Buffy to advantage. She used the opportunity to roll back to her original corner and shoved her bag into the hole. There was a flash of white just as Sam and Dean ran into the bedroom. "You get the kitchen and attic?" she asked, from her prone position on the floor.

"Yeah. We were worried. You took longer than the rest of us, " Dean said.

"I'm tough, don't worry about me," Buffy laughed. The boys helped Buffy to her feet, and the three of of them headed downstairs.

SPN/BtVS: Home

Buffy took one look at the mess the kitchen kitchen was in and asked, "What happened here?" Dean glared at her and she stuck her tongue out. "Let's get a head start on cleanup. I'm sure that Jenny won't want to deal with this when she gets home."

"Is it over." Sam asked, as he began to clean.

"I'm sure. Why do you ask?" Missouri asked.

Sam looked as if he were undecided about something. "Never mind, it's nothing."

The four of them managed to get it looking normal by the time Jenny got back, and they left after a short goodbye.

SPN/BtVS: Home

Two hours later, Sam, Dean, and Buffy were sitting in front of their old house in the Impala. "Tell me why we're here again," Dean demanded.

"I'm not sure, but I have a feeling it's not over," Sam answered.

"Missouri did her Zelda Rubenstein thing, the house should be clean," Dean pointed out.

"Should being the key word, Dean," Buffy said. "It's better to be safe than sorry."

"That may be, but I could be sleeping in a bed right now," Dean complained, leaning his chair back to get comfortable.

Ten minutes later, Sam noticed something moving on the upstairs level, near the middle window. "Dean! Dean, look!"

Buffy was already across the street as Dean and Sam got out of the car and followed her into of the house. "Dean's going for Jenny. You get Sari, I'll get Ritchie!" Sam shouted as he ran upstairs.

Buffy didn't answer, just ran to the bedroom she had been in earlier that day. Sari was sitting up in bed, clutching the comforter and trying not to cry. Standing in front of her closet was a figure covered in flames. Buffy cocked her head at it, standing between it and Sari. "Mom?" she asked.

SPN/BtVS: Home

Dean reached the master bedroom and tried to turn the doorknob. It was stuck. "Help! Get me out of here!" Jenny shouted through the door.

"Stand back!" Dean yelled back, as he stepped back a few steps. He lifted his foot and kicked the door open. "Come on, let's go outside."

"What about my kids?" she demanded, pulling back.

"Sam and Buffy have your kids, let's go!"

SPN/BtVS: Home

"You said there was nothing in your closets when you lived here," Sari accused, clutching onto Buffy.

"There wasn't. When we lived here, this was where my brother Sam slept. My mom died in a fire in this room. Let's go." Buffy turned and pulled Sari to the ground floor, right behind Sam.

Sam pushed Ritchie into his sister's arms. "Take your brother outside as fast as you can, don't look back."

An invisible force tripped both Sam and Buffy, then pulled them into the living room, sending them crashing into a table before they were lifted and thrust against the wall.

Sari rushed outside and Dean grabbed her arm. "Where's Sam and Buffy?"

"Inside, something's got them!"

SPN/BtVS: Home

Dean wasted no time in grabbing an axe from the trunk and tearing the door down. It took him ten minutes to make a hole big enough but when he did, he rushed into the house.

Sam and Buffy were on opposite walls when Dean rushed into the room, gun waving. The flaming figure from upstairs was standing in the middle of the room.

"Don't shoot!" Sam said.

"Why not?" Dean demanded.

"Because I can see who it is," Buffy said. "It's Mom."

The figure stood still and slowly the flame disappeared. In its place was a tall woman with long blonde waves. She opened her eyes, Buffy and Dean's green looked back at the three stunned people. Mary Winchester was wearing the nightgown she died in.

She walked slowly to Dean. "You grew up well, Dean. I love you," she said. Dean stared at his mother, seeing her for the first time in twenty-two years. His young memory didn't do his mother justice. She was breathtakingly beautiful, and those few words were enough to break him. Tears started falling down his face, one at a time.

"My Annabeth," Mary said, this time walking to Buffy. "I'm sorry I didn't listen. You should know that we're both proud of you. We both miss you, and we'll both love you, no matter who you are."

Buffy had tears in her eyes, struggling to keep them at bay and not having much success. Mary's words felt like a balm on her soul, though she didn't know who the second person her mother was talking about.

"Sam, I'm sorry, for everything," Mary apologized. "I love you." All three were openly crying as their mother turned away from them and spoke to the house at large. "You get out of my house! And let my children go!"

Flames engulfed her again and she disappeared, leaving through the ceiling. Both Sam and Buffy were released, Sam caught himself and Buffy slid to the floor. "Now it's over." Sam declared.

SPN/BtVS: Home

The next morning the Winchesters brought Missouri over for another reading of the house. "This time I'm sure there is nothing more here," she said, joining Sam on the front stoop.

"Not even my mom?" he asked, thinking and replaying his mother's words to all of them over and over in his head.

"I'm sorry, but no," Missouri shook her head. "Your mother destroyed herself to get rid of the poltergeist."

"Why would she do that?" Sam demanded, trying to fight tears.

"To protect her family, why else?" Missouri asked. "Sam, I'm sorry."

"Why?" he asked.

"You sensed it was here, even when I couldn't," she admitted.

"What's happening to me? What's happening to Buffy?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, why is this all happening now?" Buffy asked, walking from Dean and the Impala to Sam and Missouri.

"I know I should have all the answers, Sam, but I don't," Missouri admitted. "As for you, something inside you has been reawakened, and that's going to direct your path, determine what choices you have. Don't let those you don't trust direct your path, and follow your heart. It has never led you wrong so far."

"You two ready to go?" Dean called.

"Yeah," Sam answered, walking over to him, leaving Buffy and Missouri alone.

"You tell my Dad to get his ass in gear and stop hiding, and give us a call soon?" Buffy asked.

"You're not going to tell him?" Missouri asked, surprised.

"Sam and Dean aren't ready to see him yet," Buffy answered. "Dad can be on his own without us worrying about his ass."

"I'll pass on the message," Missouri agreed, a small smirk on her face. John Winchester deserved a nice shake up.

SPN/BtVS: Home

"Did you find her?" the fourth asked.

"Not in California for the missing boat crew," the second answered.

"They weren't in Texas either," the fifth answered.

"That's because they were in Lawrence, Kansas," the first revealed. "Banished a poltergeist."

"Impressive, but I don't understand how they could've known about it," the third commented. "Nothing happened until after they got there."

"Unless she had a dream," the second reasoned. "Its the only thing I can think of that could get them to change their pattern without us noticing."

"What if one of the brothers is a seer?" the third asked.

"I doubt it," the first said. "Seers are rare, and visions requires demon blood in order to survive them."

"Keep an eye out, maybe we'll be able to get them at their next hunt," the fourth said.


	7. Scarecrow

Scarecrow

They had just finished a job at a haunted insane asylum a few hours ago, and they were still fighting the affects of it. The ghosts were of a crazy doctor and his patients, who he tortured to prove that purposely enraging patients was therapeutic. What it actually did was cause the patients to riot. People, who had been lured in by reports of the building being haunted, had left the place and then killed people close to them in a fit of rage.

They were tipped by a text message from their father, so they headed to Rockford, Illinois, as fast as they could. Sam had been separated from the group by a misleading phone call, and had been subjected to one of the doctor's 'sessions' and attacked Dean, shouting and accusing both him and Buffy of stopping him from going after their father. Sam claimed he didn't remember anything, but Buffy wasn't so sure.

She knew that even if Sam didn't say it, he was blaming both her and Dean for not being able to find Dad. He very much wanted to be a part of that fight, just as much as Dad wanted all three of them no where near it.

She was sharing with Dean again when the phone rang early in the morning.

"Dean?" Sam called, half asleep. He heard Dean roll over and Buffy grunt as he stretched to reach the phone "Hello?"

"Sam?"

All the sleep fell from Sam as he sat up. On the next bed, Buffy sat up as well, swinging her legs over the side of the bed. "Dad?" Sam asked. "Are you hurt?"

"Yeah, Sam it's me," Dad agreed. "I'm fine."

"We've been looking for you everywhere! We didn't know where you were! How could you just up and leave Buffy like that?" Sam demanded.

"Give me the phone," Buffy ordered, gently. Dean was moving around now, rubbing his eyes.

"I"m alright. What about you three?" Dad asked.

"We're fine. Dad, where are you?"

Buffy could practically hear him shaking his head. "I can't tell you that," Dad denied.

"Is that Dad?" Dean asked, sitting up in bed, accepting the shirt that Buffy handed him.

"Why not?" Sam demanded, getting angry.

"Look, I know that this is hard to understand," Dad said, "but you're just going to have to trust me."

"Sam. Please give me the phone," Buffy asked again.

"You're after it, aren't you? You're after the thing that killed Mom," Sam concluded.

"Yeah, it's a demon, Sam," Dad confirmed.

"A demon, you know for sure?" Sam asked.

"A demon? What's Dad saying?" Dean asked.

"I do. Listen Sammy, I. . . I know what happened with your girlfriend. I'm sorry. I wish I could've protected you from that," Dad said.

"You know where it is?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, I think I'm finally closing in on it," Dad admitted.

"Sam, the phone," Buffy said.

"Let us help!" Sam insisted.

"I can't. You can't be any part of it," Dad said.

"Why not?" Sam demanded, but he didn't get to hear the answer.

Buffy reached across the gap between the beds and took the phone out of Sam's hand. "You stupid son of a bitch! The next time you leave me someplace, have the decency to tell me that you're leaving! And don't take my phone!" Dean and Sam stared at her. No one ever talked to their father like that, but, this time she may have been justified.

"Annabeth," Dad started.

"Don't you Annabeth me, all I'm asking for is a ten second notice next time. Tell me so I won't spend three days searching the area before I realize that you indeed left under your own power. For all I knew you were possessed! Dad, did you even think about what I would go through when you left?" Buffy demanded.

"I'm sorry I left without telling you, but it was important! This is bigger than you think. Even us talking right now isn't safe," John said.

"Thank you for calling," Buffy said in a soft voice.

"You did ask. Now do you have a pen and paper?" John asked. "I have some names for you to take down."

"I'm going to give the phone to Dean, he does that stuff," Buffy said, then handed the phone, paper and a pen to Dean. That evening they were on their way to Indiana.

* * *

Sam was driving, Dean was sitting shotgun and Buffy was sleeping in the back. "So the names Dad gave us. they're all couples?"

"Yeah. Three different couples that all went missing." Dean agreed.

"Do they have anything in common?" Sam asked.

"Each was on a cross-country trip, none arrived at their destination, or were heard from again," Dean said.

"They could've disappeared anywhere," Sam complained.

"They could've," Dean admitted, " Only all three disappeared in the same area of southern Indiana in the second week of April."

"This is the second week of April," Sam pointed out.

"Yep," Dean agreed.

"So Dad sent us to gank the thing before another couple vanishes?" Sam asked.

Dean shrugged. "I guess." He started shuffling through papers, looking up when Sam started pulling over. "What are you doing?"

"We're not going to Indiana," Sam declared, turning to Dean. "We're going to California."

Dean inhaled deeply, trying to keep his patience. "Sam!"

"Dean, if he's closing in on the demon that killed Mom and Jess, we gotta be there!" Sam insisted.

"Dad doesn't want our help!" Dean exclaimed.

"I don't care."

"Dad gave us an order!"

"And I. Don't. Care." Sam bit out. "We don't always have to do what he says."

"Dad is asking us to save lives, it's important," Dean countered.

"All I'm asking for is one week. To get answers. To get revenge!" Sam insisted.

"What happens when one week becomes two, then six, then a whole year? Listen, Sammy, I know how you feel. . ." Dean began, but Sam cut him off.

Sam got out of the car and opened the trunk. Throwing it open, he shouted, "How old were you when Mom died? Four. Jess died six months ago!"

"I've been training to kill the thing that ganked Mom since I was six! You don't think that I don't want in on the final fight as much as you do? You're dead wrong! But Dad says it's not safe, for any of us! So, if he says stay away, that's what we do!" Dean yelled.

"I don't understand the blind faith you have in the man! Either of you! You two follow Dad around like a puppy! You don't even question him!"

"It's called being a good son!" Dean shouted. "You are one selfish bastard! You do whatever you want, without regard to what anyone else thinks."

"Is that what you really think?" Sam demanded.

"Well, then this 'selfish bastard' is going to California!" Sam insisted, grabbing all his things out of the trunk.

"Come on! You're not serious!" Dean said.

"Yeah, I am!"

"It's the middle of the night!" Dean said, closing the trunk. "Hey, I'm taking off! I will leave your ass!"

Sam started walking, barely looking back. "It's what I want you to do!"

Sam barely heard Dean call out goodbye before he sped off. Sam's only regret was he hadn't asked Buffy what she wanted to do.

Dean slammed the door before starting the ignition and peeling away. "What's going on? Where's Sam?" Buffy asked, sleepily.

* * *

Buffy and Dean pulled into Burkitsville, Indiana the next afternoon. Dean pulled out his cell phone and scrolled down to Sam's number. "If you're going to call, you better do it before he leaves Indiana," Buffy said.

"You're mad at me," Dean said, softly.

"You and Sammy boy are always going to have issues when it comes to Dad. When we were growing up, we sheltered him from everything until he was nine. He got the more normal childhood, without having to worry about taking care of anyone else. We had Dad leaning on us to keep him safe. We followed Dad's orders because if we didn't, Sam would pay the price, and Sammy doesn't know that. He doesn't realize how much of ourselves we put into him as we raised him. We raised him to be independent, and we made his life as good as we could, giving him everything we couldn't have. And when children reach a certain age, they rebel against their caregivers, and we're Sam's" Buffy said.

"You calling Sam our kid?" Dean asked, a tiny smile on his face.

"If the shoe fits," Buffy laughed. "Let's see what this town has for us."

The two got out of the Impala and walked over to an older man leaning against a wall. "You Scotty?" Dean asked, glancing at the sign reading 'Scotty's Cafe'.

The man looked over to him and glared around the toothpick he had clutched in his teeth. "What gave it away?"

"My name's John Bonham, and this is Patrica Tyler," Dean said.

"Isn't that the drummer of Led Zepplin?" Scotty asked.

"Very good. Not often we run into classic rock fans. You can call me Pat," Buffy said, holding her hand out.

"What can I do for you, John? Pat?" Scotty asked.

Buffy reached into her back pocket and pulled out two missing posters. "We're looking for our step-brother and his wife. They went mission around a year ago and passed through somewhere around here, and we've already asked around Scottsburg and Salem. . ."

"Nope, I don't remember seeing them," Scotty answered, barely looking at the pictures of Vince and Holly Parker. "Would you like to come inside for some apple pie?"

"No, thank you though. We better be going," Buffy said quickly before Dean could let his stomach answer for them.

* * *

Sam had made his way back to the interstate and was slowly making progress. He hadn't realized how far away from a town they were when he decided to leave for California. He should've planned a bit better, next time he would wait until they were in a town.

Up ahead there was a woman standing under a bus stop sign From what he could see from the back she was short, with cropped blonde hair. She was crouched over her bag, her head bobbing along to music he assumed was playing through earphones. "Hey!" he called as he approached.

She didn't seem to hear him. He waited until he was behind he and tried again. "Hey!" he said, gently grabbing her shoulder.

She jumped, whirling around and taking out her earbuds. "You scared the crap outta me!"

"I'm sorry. I did try to call. You look like you could use some help," Sam offered.

She looked him over, a creeped out look on her face. "No, thanks. I'm good."

Sam shrugged his shoulders, rocking on the balls of his feet. He didn't know why, but this woman was making him a little nervous, the 'oh my god, I'm talking to a pretty girl!' nervous. "Where are you headed?" he asked after an awkward pause.

"No, offense, but no way I'm telling you. You could be some kind of freak," the woman answered with a small smile. "You are hitchhiking."

"So are you," Sam laughed.

The woman opened her mouth to say something just as a white van pulled up. "You need a ride?"

"Yeah," Sam and the woman chorused.

"Just her," the driver leered.

The woman gathered her things and started to get in. "You trust shady van guy more than you trust me?" Sam asked.

"Defiantly. He's got a ride," she grinned, getting in the front seat and grinning as the van pulled away.

* * *

Dean and Buffy were in another locally owned store, showing around their pictures. "You sure you don't remember seeing them?" Buffy asked, showing her set to the older man as Dean shared his with the older woman.

"I don't remember them. You said they were family?" Harley asked.

"That's right," Dean agreed. "They didn't stop for gas or anything?"

"Did the guy have a tattoo?" a young woman asked.

"Yeah, Emily, he did. On his forearm," Buffy answered.

"You remember? They were just married," Emily said.

"Oh, that's right!" Harley exclaimed. "They did stop by, but they weren't here for more than ten minutes."

"Do you remember anything else?" Dean asked.

"After I told them how to get back on the interstate, they left. I haven't seen them since," Harley said.

"You wouldn't mind giving us those directions, would you?" Buffy asked, with a small pout.

"I swear, you jutting your lip out gets you anything you want, no matter how big or small," Dean said in awe, shaking his head. "It's ten times more effective than Sammy's puppy eyes."

"The better to manipulate you with my dear," Buffy laughed. She consulted the directions that Harley gave her. "Go one mile and take a right."

Dean flipped on the radio and pushed in the tape, just as Buffy turned it off, and a noise started in the back seat. "Pull over, Dean." Dean did, and reached into the back seat to see what was making the noise. "Something's in the orchard on the other side of the road."

"I'd say your right. The EMF's going crazy. I didn't think I even turned it on," Dean muttered. They got out of the car, finding a convenient parking area a little ways up the road. From the front of the orchard, there was a clear path down the middle, a scarecrow at the end of the path.

Buffy and Dean looked at each other and shrugged, before turning to the entrance and walking down the center aisle. When they got to the scarecrow, Buffy and Dean stood on the ground in front of it.

The scarecrow was the size of a man, dressed all in black with black pits for eyes and no mouth. Dean looked around and found a ladder a short distance away. "I'll let you drive if you inspect Leatherface here,"

"Okay, fraidycat!" Buffy agreed. Dean pulled the ladder closer, placing it in front of the scarecrow. Dean held it still as Buffy climbed up.

It was very unnerving, being this close to an inanimate object that wouldn't have looked out of place at a haunted house. "If I only had a brain," Buffy muttered, leaning closer to get a better look. Something caught her attention on its arm and she shifted over to get a closer look. "Dean, the thing on its arm? Does it look familiar?"

Dean looked up and shook his head. "Damn. Nice tat."

"This is Vince, or at least parts of him," Buffy said.

"Get down, we have some homework to do," Dean said.

* * *

Sam was about to give up and continue walking when a light blue and light green van pulled up behind him and a short brunette jumped out. "You need a ride?"

"Yeah, thanks," Sam said grabbing his things.

"No problem. I've been in your sitch many times myself, though I had something going for me," she said, smiling, giving him a once over.

"What would that be?" Sam asked, thinking he was going to be insulted.

"I'm a hot woman," she said as if everything made sense. "My name's Faith."

" Sam."

"Well, Sammy boy, where you headed?" Faith asked, hopping into the front seat as Sam got in the back.

"California."

"We're headed west, but we're headed to Chicago. We could take you to a bus station," Faith offered.

"That would be great!" Sam exclaimed.

"Sam, I'd like to introduce you to Willow. Willow, this is Sam," Faith said, placing more emphasis on his name than Sam thought was needed.

"It's great to meet you," Willow said, nodding at Sam as best she could through the rear view mirror.

* * *

Buffy and Dean made their way back to town, trying to piece everything together. They stopped at the carshop that Harley and his wife Stacy owned. Emily was standing by the gas pumps. "Fill her up, would you?" Dean asked as he and Buffy got out of the car.

"Sure." Emily stood up and reached under the trunk for the gas cap and slid the nozzle in.

"You're lucky. There's not many he'd let touch his car," Buffy smiled. "Did you grow up here?"

"No. My parents died when I was thirteen, and my aunt and uncle took me in," Emily corrected.

"I'm sorry. Loosing a parent is a hard thing to go through," Buffy answered, as she saw flashes of a tall brunette woman lying on a couch, pale as a sheet.

"It's not so bad," Emily said. "The town's small enough so everyone knows everyone else, and we're prospering. Surrounding towns are loosing jobs and people are moving away, but here? We're growing."

"Have you been out to the orchard? Seen that scarecrow?" Dean asked.

"Yeah, it creeps me out. I don't think anyone knows who it belongs to, otherwise it would be taken down." Emily took the gas nozzle out of the tank and hung it back up.

Dean nodded, then spotted a bright red SUV in front of the door to the garage."That belong to your aunt and uncle?"

Emily looked over her shoulder, then shook her head. "No. Someone came in with car trouble a few minutes ago."

"It's not a couple, is it? he asked. Emily nodded.

* * *

Sam spent most of his ride trying to fend off questions from Willow and Faith. He was almost willing to kiss the ground when they reached the bus depot. "You take care of yourself, Sam. Don't give up on your family, you never know when they're the only people who can help," Willow advised.

"You don't know my family, he answered. "My sister's alright, but my brother, he has the most annoying habit of trying to run my life."

"You remind me of a girl I know," Faith said. "She said the same thing about her sister. That sister then died to protect her. Ever think that he's trying to do the same to you?"

Sam laughed. "Dean and Buffy have been looking out for me my entire life. He just doesn't know how to let go. Thanks for the ride." Sam gathered his things and got out of the car, not noticing when Faith grabbed some spare hairs that he left on the seat.

When he reached the counter to buy a bus ticket, Sam was disappointed to find that the next bus wasn't until the next morning. Annoyed, he turned around and almost ran into the blonde woman from the highway. "Hey, you again," she smiled.

"Hey," Sam said. "What happened to your ride?"

"You were right, he was shady. So, I cut him loose." Sam nodded absently and looked around the station. "What's the matter?"

"Just trying to get to California," Sam sighed. He wished that he had woken Buffy up, given her the chance to either say goodbye, or to leave with him. She had confessed several times when they were alone that she wished she had the opportunity to go to school, to have a long term boyfriend, to live in the same house for more than two months. Sam knew that she would never go after any of it. She was too involved, as Dean was.

"You know, the next bus isn't until tomorrow," she said, holding out her hand. "I'm Meg."

"Sam," he said, shaking her hand.

* * *

Dean and Buffy walked in the cafe. The woman looked up at Buffy, longing in her blue eyes. Her long brown hair framed her face as she looked up at Buffy. She opened her mouth to say something but her companion cut her off. "Dawn."

"What Xander?" Dawn whispered. "I haven't seen her in six years!"

"She doesn't know who you are yet, have patience," Xander whispered back.

Buffy leaned closer to Dean. "That's one of the people from Jericho, the young woman," she whispered.

Dean nodded his head, now on alert. If they had tracked Buffy to a place in the middle of nowhere in Indiana, who knew what else they could do. They sat at the table beside the new couple. "Hey, Scotty! Could we have a coffee, and a slice of apple pie?" Dean called.

Scotty arrived, delivering cider to Dawn and Xander's table, but ignored the Winchesters. "What brings you to town?" Buffy asked.

"I'm sure these people want to eat in peace," Scotty said, coming back with Dean's pie.

"It's not any trouble," Dawn blurted out. Everyone looked at her. "We just stopped for gas, and the guy at the station said that one of our break lines was leaking. Which is funny because I asked Spike to inspect the car before we left and he said it was fine."

"Spike your boyfriend?" Buffy asked.

Dawn shook her head. "He's more like my older brother, though he's biologically not related to me. He had a huge crush on my sister, and before she. . . left, he promised to look after me,"

"Are you two a couple?" Xander asked.

"Yes in the sense that we're two people, no for the reason that he's my brother," Buffy answered.

"How long did they guy tell you it would take to repair?" Dean asked.

"Sunset," Xander answered, catching the way that Buffy and Dean glanced at each other in worry.

"Well, I know a thing or two about cars, I could take a look and have you on your way in an hour or so," Dean offered.

"You see that black car out there? The Impala? Dean's been working on that since Dad gave it to him. He doesn't let anyone else under that hood but Dad," Buffy laughed.

"Sweet ride. Spike's got a DeSoto. Loves that thing like he loves my sister," Dawn said, glancing sideways at Buffy.

"I think we'll let the mechanic do it," Xander stepped in. All four of them looked back at the door when it opened and the sheriff entered.

"Thank you for getting here so fast," Scotty said, stepping out from behind the counter.

"I'd like to have a word with you," the sheriff said, walking over to the Winchester's table.

"Come on! I haven't done anything," Dean protested. "And I'm already having a bad day."

"You don't want to make it any worse."

Ten minutes later, with the police car behind them, Buffy and Dean were driving out of town.

* * *

Meg had packed a few beers and had given one to Sam. After several hours, both had spilled their stories. Sam had talked about Dean, leaving Buffy out. Meg talked about her family. In the end, they toasted to living their own lives, leaving Sam feeling slightly guilty. Whose life was Buffy living, one that she picked, or one that was picked for her?

* * *

Dean and Buffy tore back into town an hour after sunset, heading for the orchard. "That's gotta be where the townspeople's gonna send them," Dean said.

Buffy agreed, but was confused. She could've sworn that she'd seen the two before, and that they were important to her, but she couldn't place them. The confusion gave her more incentive to figure out what was going on, so she could stop it.

When they got to the parking area, they found the red SUV, without people in it. "I'll go look, you get ready to attack this thing," Dean ordered. Buffy nodded and tossed him his favorite sawed off and a bag of rock salt rounds. Dean hurried off as she got her own weapons.

Less than fifteen minutes later, Dean was coming back with both Dawn and Xander in tow, shooting at the tall scarecrow chasing them. Buffy raised her gun and stood even with the boundary of the orchard, Dean at her side and Dawn and Xander behind them. "Did you see where it went?" Dawn asked.

"No." Dean's answer was curt.

"What was that thing?" Xander asked.

"You would be better off not knowing," Buffy answered, stepping carefully into the orchard, trying to find the scarecrow.

"You'd be surprised," both Dawn and Xander muttered under their breaths.

The couple was on their way as Buffy and Dean got on the highway. Buffy was driving to a nearby town as Dean talked to Sam on his phone.

* * *

"So the scarecrow jumped off its cross?" Sam asked.

"Yep. I'm telling you, man. You missed out on some whacked out shit," Dean said.

"It didn't kill the couple, did it?" Sam asked, as Dean pressed the speakerphone button.

"No, it didn't. They got out alright," Buffy answered.

"I'm sorry, Buffy," Sam started, but she cut him off.

"As long as you're apologizing over the phone, I'm uninterested. You want to apologize, come say it in person."

"We can cope without you, Sam," Dean said.

"I know. So, something must be animating the scarecrow. Spirit?" Sam asked.

"Nope! It's a god, a pagan one at least," Dean announced.

"How can you tell?" Sam asked.

"The cycle of its killings, for one. The fact that it's always a man and a woman that go missing. It's like a fertility right," Dean explained. "And you should've seen the way the townspeople were treating these people. Practically force fed them."

"Last meal given to sacrificial victims," Buffy muttered. "At least this should be easier than the last god I faced."

"What was that?" Sam asked.

"Nothing," Buffy said, just as Dean was beginning to explain his theory.

"A god possesses the scarecrow and for a year the crops prosper and the town thrives."

"Do you know which one you're dealing with?" Sam asked.

"Not yet. We're headed to a local community college to talk to a professor. Buffy couldn't find anything, and I don't have my trusty geek brother to do it for me."

"If you're trying to ask for help, just do it," Sam laughed.

"I'm not. Uh, listen. You're right. You've got to live your own life," Dean said.

"Go do what you have to, just call and let us know how you're doing. Let us in this time," Buffy said.

"You serious?" Sam asked.

"Yeah. You've always gone after what you want, and you've always stood up to Dad. Those are things I wish I could. . . anyway, I'm real proud of you, Sammy," Dean confessed. "Take care of yourself."

"I will."

* * *

Dean hung up, tears in his eyes, but he refused to let them fall. Buffy pushed in her tape. The sound of Rise Against's _Savior_ began to play throughout the car.

When they reached the college, Dean convinced Buffy to let him go alone. With the way the sheriff was acting, it took almost the entire trip, but he managed it. He jumped out of he car and walked into the building while Buffy parked the car.

Dean hadn't been in with the professor for more than fifteen minutes when the sheriff's police car pulled up in front of the building. Buffy pulled over and watched as the sheriff got out and walked into the building. Not sure what he was going to do, Buffy sat in the car, but regretted it a few minutes later. Dean was carried out the building by the sheriff and another man and stuffed into the back seat of the police car. Buffy was willing to bet that the second man was who Dean had gone to see. She had to save her brother's ass, again.

* * *

Buffy followed the car back to Burkitsville, keeping the police car barely in sight so the sheriff wouldn't notice a tail. She parked at the edge of town and followed the car on foot. The sheriff got out of the car and was met by Harley and Scotty, who helped get Dean down a set of stairs and into a basement.

It started to rain and Stacy joined the three men. All four were standing in a circle under umbrellas discussing something that Buffy couldn't make out. Slowly she made her way close enough to hear the discussion.

"You don't understand, Harley. All of us here, it's our responsibility to protect the town," Scotty was saying.

"I understand! I understand better than the rest of you! I'm the one who sends them down to the orchard!" Harley defended himself.

The sheriff sighed. "Harley, please!"

"We all close our doors and look the other way. Pretend we can't hear the screams, but this is different! This is murder!"

Stacy shook her head. "It's angry with us, already the trees are beginning to die. Tonight's the seventh night of the cycle: our last chance."

"If the boy has to die, then he has to die," Harley conceded. "But why her? What about the girl he came with?"

"We don't know where she is, for one. For another we're pretty sure that they are siblings, not an ideal offering," the sheriff explained. "But if we can find her, then we'll use her, otherwise, we have no choice."

Buffy watched as the group split into two. Ten minutes later, Scotty and Stacy came back pulling a struggling Emily to the basement where they had Dean, Emily screaming the entire time.

* * *

Sam pulled his phone from his ear for the tenth time in thirty minutes. Dean was refusing to answer his phone. It kept going to voicemail. He decided to try another number.

"Hello?"

"Buffy? What's going on? I can't get ahold of Dean!" Sam said, panicked.

"Dean's been taken by the god's worshippers to be sacrificed to it," Buffy explained. "He's a bit tied up right now. See what kind of trouble we get into when you're not around?"

"You need help?" Sam asked.

"They need a male and a female, and I'm going to turn myself in. That's the plan so far."

"You're going to sacrifice yourself to a pagan god?" Sam demanded.

"It's either me or a girl that doesn't understand what's going on."

"You can't do this!"

"Then stop me!" Buffy challenged, then hung up.

Sam cursed as he gathered his things. Meg walked up to him, smile on her face. "Our bus just came in."

"You better get on it. I've got to go," Sam said, finally coming to a decision.

"What? Go where?" she asked.

"Burkitsville."

"Sam, wait!"

"I've been trying to call my brother for the past three hours, and I keep getting his voicemail, and Buffy's going to do something stupid. I've got to go."

"You think that he's in trouble?"

"Yeah, and I can't wait around. They're the only family I have left." Sam sighed. He turned away from Meg, and walked swiftly out the door.

* * *

Dean rammed his shoulder into the door, trying to open it. He stopped after a few minutes, getting nothing but a sore shoulder.

"I don't understand, they're going to kill us?" Emily asked.

"Sacrifice us, which is, I don't know, classier?" Dean corrected. "You didn't know anything about this, did you?"

"About the scarecrow god?" she scoffed. "I don't believe this."

"You better start believing, because I'm going to need your help," Dean said.

"Alright," Emily sighed.

"Okay, good. We can destroy the scarecrow, but we've got to find the tree."

"What tree?"

"A sacred tree, one that probably really old. The locals would give it a lot of respect," Dean explained.

"There's this one apple tree. Legend goes that the immigrants brought it over. It's called the First Tree."

"Is it in the orchard?" Dean asked.

"Yeah, but I don't know where."

* * *

The door to the cellar began to open, revealing Stacy and the sheriff, holding Buffy in between them. "It's time," Stacy declared.

Buffy could feel Dean's disapproving stare as the townspeople tied the two of them to apple trees in the orchard. She ignored her brother and focused on the sheriff, who was tying her up. "How many people have you killed? How much blood is on your hands?" she asked.

"I don't kill them," he corrected.

"No, but you cover up afterward. Ho many cars have you hidden, bodies have you buried?" Dean demanded.

The sheriff wouldn't make eye contact, and Scotty, Harley, and Stacy refused to talk anymore. Shortly after they left, Dean rounded on Buffy.

"What the hell were you thinking!" he shouted.

"I was thinking that I wasn't going to let a little girl get killed in my place! I've got a plan, trust me," Buffy answered.

"Your plans usually end with something exploding," Dean countered.

"Not all the time! And that abandoned school wasn't my fault!"

"That's not what you were telling people at the time!"

Buffy shook her head and inhaled deeply. "What are we dealing with?"

"A pagan god called a Vanir. Brought to life by worshiping a specific tree. Torch the tree, torch the god."

"Okay. Now give me a minute, I need to break the rope."

It turned out that the rope was stronger than it looked, and Buffy was tied up and an awkward angle, so she could get the leverage she needed to break the rope.

"How's that plan working out for you?" Dean taunted. He was slightly irritable. He hadn't made any headway on his ropes either. Buffy looked back over her shoulder, where the cross was barely visible. "You see anything?"

"No, I can't see anything," Buffy said.

There was a rustling in the trees behind them. Buffy and Dean started pulling at their ropes as hard as they could, until the cause for the rustling stepped into their clearing. "Dean? Buffy?"

"Sam!" Buffy cried.

"Oh! I take back everything I said, I'm so happy to see you!" Dean exclaimed. "How'd you get here?"

"Stole a car," Sam answered, sheepishly, as he untied Dean's, then Buffy's ropes. "And I had some help." Emily came out from behind a tree.

"That's my boy! Keep an eye on that scarecrow, he could come alive any minute," Dean warned, as he rubbed his wrists.

"Too late," Buffy said, just as Sam asked, " What scarecrow?"

Emily, Buffy, Sam, and Dean started running. "This sacred tree you were talking about?" Sam asked.

"The source of its power," Dean confirmed.

"Let's find it and burn it," Sam suggested.

"Let's survive till tomorrow first," Buffy countered. They started running again, but were cut off when townspeople stepped in front of them, holding guns.

"Please, let us go!" Emily cried.

"It will be over quickly," Harley said, stepping closer, his wife at his side. "You have to let him take you. You have to . . ."

Harley was cut off when a hook was thrust through his chest. Stacy began screaming and was grabbed as Harley fell to the ground. The scarecrow thrust its hook into Harley and dragged the two away. Everyone was screaming and running in different directions.

"Let's go," Dean said softly. Buffy, Sam, and Emily followed him to the edge of the orchard, where Buffy led the way to the Impala.

* * *

They woke early the next morning and Emily led the way through the orchard. It didn't take as long as expected to find the tree. Sam doused it with gas, and Emily set it on fire, not caring that the town was going to die. Buffy agreed with her. It was for the best. This was one case where the ends didn't justify the means.

They then drove Emily to a bus station and watched her board a bus to Boston. "You think she's going to be alright?" Sam asked.

"I hope so," Dean said, leaning against the Impala.

"What about the town? They're just going to get away with it?"

"Whatever happens will have to be punishment enough," Buffy answered.

"Can we drop you off somewhere?" Dean asked.

"No, I think you're stuck with me," Sam smiled.

Buffy opened the driver's side door and climbed in, a tiny smile on her face. "What made you change your mind?" Dean asked.

"I didn't. I still want to find Dad, but right now he doesn't want to be found. Mom and Jess are dead, you two are all I have left, and I don't want to miss out on anything else," Sam answered.

"Hold me, Sam, that was beautiful," Dean teased, getting in the passenger's side.

"You should be kissing my ass, guys! You two were dead meat!" Sam said, getting into the back seat.

"Yeah right! I had a plan! So did Buffy!" Dean insisted.

"Right!" Sam laughed.

"You were my plan, Sam. How does that make you feel?" Buffy laughed, pulling out onto the highway.

* * *

"How'd it go?" Giles asked.

"It went well. Sam was hitchhiking and we picked him up. Took a few minutes for Red to get that this was the guy we were looking for," Faith answered.

"You had the easy assignment!" Xander whined. "Dawn and I were almost sacrificed!"

"Demon?" Willow asked, thinking back to his history.

"No, pagan god," Dawn answered.

"Did you get any material?" Giles asked.

"Yep!" Willow exclaimed. "We got some hair. Good for both DNA testing and locator spells."

"We got hair off of Dean and Buffy, though it was hard to get without either noticing," Dawn said. "Plus I think she recognized me."

"As her sister?" Giles asked.

"No, from California. She was wary of me, not excited to see me," Dawn answered sadly.

"I want' a hair from you, Dawn. If Dean and Sam are Buffy's brothers, they might be yours as well," Willow said.

Dawn pulled out a few hairs and handed them over. "Let's give Willow some time to do her tests. We'll meet again when she's got results.


	8. Faith

Buffy, Dean and Sam were hunting a rawhead in a house in Montana. It had already attacked two of the five children in the house, one of which had gotten out. Buffy shook her head as she followed her brothers to the car. "What is an Irish demon doing out here?"

"That is the tenth time you've asked that question," Sam said, annoyed. "And for the tenth time, I don't know." He saw Dean pull out a taser from the trunk of the Impala. "What do you have that set to?"

"Hundred thousand volts," Dean answered. "I want this rawhead extra crispy." He tossed a taser to Sam, then to Buffy. "Remember, you only have one shot with these things."

Buffy took point as they searched the house. The usual haunt for a rawhead was under sinks, but this one had changed things up. It had taken to living in the bathroom and in the basement. They had found the door to the basement, but had a few more doors to check before they declared the floor clean.

Buffy nodded to Dean, who held the doorknob, and he swung the door open. Two missing children were sitting on the floor of the closet, holding each other and sobbing silently.

"Is it still here?" Sam asked. The children nodded.

"You two, come with me. We're going outside," Buffy said, reaching for the nearest one. They latched on to her and she carefully walked out of the house.

Dean and Sam continued to the basement, moving carefully. They found a wardrobe when they heard a rattling noise. They walked over and opened the doors, startling two more children.

"Take your sister's hand. Come on, we're going to get you out of here," Dean said, pulling the children out and handing them to Sam. "Let's go."

Sam directed the children to the stairs and started up after them. Something grabbed his leg and he fell down the stairs. "Sam!" Dean shouted, moving around the staircase to get a clear shot, squeezing the trigger. "Damn! Missed."

"Take mine," Sam offered, tossing his taser to Dean. Dean caught it and Sam jumped back up the stairs. He was almost out of the house when he ran into Buffy.

"These the last two?"

"I think so," Sam confirmed.

"Where's Dean?" Buffy asked.

Sam went back into the house and came back ten minutes later, Dean unconscious over his shoulder.

* * *

Buffy and Sam were in the waiting room, taking to cops, as they waited for news on Dean.

"Excuse me, and I'm sorry I'm going to have to ask, but there doesn't seem to be any insurance on file," the hospital receptionist said.

"Oh, right," Sam answered, a little flustered. He reached into his wallet and pulled out an insurance card just as the police were finishing up their questions.

"You found the kids in the basement?" one of the two officers asked.

"No, we found two upstairs, and I took them outside. Sam came out a few minutes later with the kids from the basement," Buffy said.

"Thank god you did," the second officer said, exhaling deeply.

Sam looked at his sister, as an advancing figure caught his eyes. "Buffy," he called. She turned, and saw Dean's doctor coming down the hallway.

"Excuse me," she said.

"No problem, we've got everything we need," the first officer said. "Thank you."

Buffy turned around and joined Sam and Dr. Turner. "How is he?" Sam asked.

"He's resting," Dr. Turner answered. "But there isn't good news."

"Alright. So?" Buffy said, impatiently.

"The electrocution triggered a pretty massive heart attack, and it permanently damaged his heart."

"How bad?" Sam asked.

"We've done all we can at this point. All we can do now is make him as comfortable as possible. I'd give him a few weeks, a month at most." Turner was shaking his head. "I'm sorry."

"No. There's got to be something you can do!" Buffy insisted. "A transplant, or something."

"He most likely won't survive long enough to find a donor," Turner said. "I'm sorry. We can't work miracles. He's in room 124."

Buffy and Sam stared at the doctor as he walked away. "We've got to do something. I'm not letting him go somewhere I can't follow," Buffy vowed before stalking off to Dean's hospital room, followed by Sam, at a subdued pace.

* * *

Dean was propped up on his bed, dressed in a thin hospital gown, flipping through channels. He was pale and eyes were sunken and he looked like he hadn't slept in a year.

"Have you ever watched daytime television? It's terrible," Dean growled as Buffy and Sam walked into his room.

"We talked to your doctor. It doesn't sound good," Sam said.

"Oh, that fabric softener teddy bear, I'm gonna hunt that little bitch down," Dean muttered, changing the channel and pausing on a Sunggles commercial.

"Dean!" Buffy barked.

"Yeah," Dean sighed. "Looks like you're leaving town without me."

"Like hell!" Buffy spat. "We aren't going to lave you here!"

"You better take care of my car, or I swear I'll haunt your ass," Dean threatened, though it was unclear who he was talking to.

"If that's the only way to keep you around," Buffy said.

"You better be kidding!" Dean shouted, showing life for the first time since he found himself in the hospital.

"I don't think that's funny," Sam cut in.

"Come on, it's a little funny," Dean said, cocking his head.

"No, it's not, and I meant what I said about your car, Dean," Buffy disagreed.

"We've still got options!" Sam insisted.

"Yeah, burial or cremation, what a choice!" Dean scoffed. "I know it's not easy, but I'm gonna die, and you can't stop it."

"Watch me," Sam and Buffy chorused.

* * *

Buffy was clicking away at her laptop while Sam sat on the bed in their motel room. "Should we tell Dad?" Sam asked.

Buffy looked up. "I'm not sure he can do anything about it."

"But would he want to know?" Sam asked.

Buffy shook her head. "I've spent my whole life trying to figure out how that man's mind works, and I have yet to come up with anything. If it would make you better, call him."

Sam blinked back tears, not quite succeeding. He dialed and listened to Dad's voicemail greeting. "Hey, Dad. It's Sam. You. . . you probably won't get this but. . . . it's Dean. He's sick and the doctors say that there's nothing they can do. But. . . . don't worry. Buffy and I aren't going to let him go without a fight. Doctors don't know everything we do, do they? Just thought you'd want to know." Sam tossed his phone down as he tried to catch his tears.

Buffy got up just as a knock sounded on the door. She changed her course and, with a knife in hand, looked through the peep hole. "What the hell are you doing here?" she demanded as she let Dean into the room. He looked like he was eighteen, rather than twenty-seven.

"I'm not going to die in a hospital where they nurses aren't even hot," Dean argued.

"This 'I laugh in the face of danger' thing you've developed? It's bullshit," Buffy insisted as she helped Dean sit on the nearest bed, even as he tried to get her off him.

"Get off me!"

"We can see right through it,"Buffy continued, ignoring Dean's protests and pushing him onto the bed.

"We've been scouring the internet for the last few days, calling every contact in Dad's journal," Sam picked up.

"What for?" Dean demanded.

"What do you think?" Buffy laughed.

"For a way to help you," Sam answered.

"You're not going to let me die in peace, either of you?" Dean asked.

"People care about you. Get used to it," Buffy advised.

"We're not going to let you die, period," Sam said. "One of Dad's friends called back. He told me about a guy in Nebraska. We're going."

* * *

"Really? This is your plan? A faith healer?" Dean scoffed as Sam pulled into a muddy driveway.

"Maybe it's time for a little faith," Sam suggested.

Buffy shook her head. If she had known that going to see a faith healer, she wouldn't have let Sam take them here. She believed the protester that the police took away, this guy had to be a fraud.

"Come on, Sam! A faith healer! Did you even tell Buffy what you found before you dragged us here?"

"How can you be skeptic, with all we've seen?" Sam demanded.

"Exactly, we see them, we know they're real," Buffy said. "I don't think this was a good idea."

Sam glared at Buffy, as if she had killed his dog. "If you know that evil's real, why can't you believe that there's real good out there too?"

"Because we've seen what evil does to good people," Dean answered.

"Maybe the lord works in mysterious ways," a voice said from behind the three of them.

They spun around and came face to face with a tall platinum blonde woman. "Maybe he does," Dean said, giving the woman a once over. "Maybe you just turned me around on the subject."

"God, even when you're on death's door, you find a pair of legs to flirt with," Buffy muttered under her breath. Sam hid a snort of laughter.

"Yeah, I'm sure," the woman laughed.

Dean extended his hand. "I'm Dean. This is Sam and Buffy."

"Layla," she said. "So if you're not a believer, why are you here?"

"Our brother seems to think he has enough for all of us," Buffy said, laughing slightly.

A woman came by then and ushered Layla into the tent. "I bet she could work in mysterious ways," Dean snorted. Buffy and Sam rolled their eyes.

* * *

Sam led the way into the tent, attempting to support an uncooperating Dean. He shook Sam off, then pointed to a camera with his shoulder. "I can feel the peace, love and trust here, man," Dean muttered. He stopped at the back row, intending to sit down, but Sam pulled his arm.

"Come on, man," Sam said. "We're sitting up front."

"Why?" Dean demanded in a whisper.

"Your chances are better if we're in the front, Dean," Sam argued.

"I'm not sure this is going to work, Sam," Buffy said.

"Let's wait and see before you condemn it," Sam said, pushing Buffy into the row third from the front, sitting beside her. "Dean, you take the aisle."

A few minutes later, an elderly man stood up on stage. He wore black pants, white dress shirt with tie, and shiny black shoes. He had black sunglasses covering his eyes. Roy LeGrange opened his service. "Every morning, my wife, Sue Anne, reads me the news. It never seems too good does it?"

The crowd murmured agreement, a few "Amen"s could be heard here and there.

"It seems like every day there is someone or some group committing some immoral and unspeakable act. But I say to you, god is watching. He rewards the good and punishes the corrupt." The crowd again murmured its agreement, and the "Amen"s were louder.

Buffy tuned out the rest of the sermon and looked around the tent. On a table near the podium that was on stage, there was an assortment of religious paraphernalia, from a number of different religions. A menorah stood beside a stand alone crucifix, the Koran sat beside a statue of Buddha, and a chalice stood beside a cross with a smaller cross inside a circle on the top. Buffy reached for her necklace and clutched it in her hand. She found the Star of David, the cross, and the Islamic Crest, but she didn't find the unusual cross on her necklace. All the objects on the table were for protection, but not that cross.

Buffy's attention was drawn back to what was going around her when Roy called Dean to the stage.

"Dean I want you to come up here with me," Roy said, looking off to Dean's left, and holding his arm out.

"No, that's okay," Dean said, trying to bow out.

"What are you doing?" Sam hissed.

"You've come to be healed, haven't you?" Roy asked, confused.

"Yeah, but. . ." Dean began, but the crowd interrupted. "Maybe you should try someone else."

"Oh, I didn't pick you, Dean, the lord did," Roy laughed.

Dean groaned and allowed himself to be pushed onstage. Buffy saw Dean and Roy exchange words before Roy held his arms out and said, "Pray with me, my friends."

Everyone, minus Buffy and Dean, closed their eyes and hoped for the best. Buffy watched fearfully as Dean started to fall to his knees in slow motion. He collasped, falling onto his back. Buffy rushed to Dean and managed to catch him before he fell off stage. "Are you alright, Dean?"

Sam had followed Buffy and was at her side. "Dean? Say something," he implored.

Dean didn't answer, but he did open his eyes. It took a few minutes for his eyes to focus. He found Buffy's face before looking behind Roy, where a pale man in a suit was standing before disappearing.

* * *

"You feel oaky?" Buffy asked.

"I feel fine. Why did you let Sam take me there?" Dean asked.

"I didn't have any better ideas, and if he happened to be a fake, then it would've done no harm. Sam needed to something, and I was working on my own methods of keeping you here. We're a package deal, Dean."

The doctor walked in and smiled at Dean. "There's nothing wrong with your heart, according to these test results," Dr. Madison said. "Not that someone your age should be having heart problems, but it does happen. Just yesterday an athlete your age was brought in. He died of a heart attack."

Dean and Buffy exchanged looks. "Thanks, Doc," Dean said, pulling on his jacket and hopping off the exam table.

"No problem. Stay safe," she said, handing Dean the appropriate paperwork.

"So, how'd it go?" Sam asked.

Dean shook his head and growled, " A man was brought into the hospital yesterday. He died of a heart attack. You never should've brought me here!"

"It could've been a coincidence!" Sam protested weakly. "People's hearts give out all the time!"

"This is no coincidence, Sam," Buffy said softly. "I've got a feeling that there's something more going on here. Something important."

"It's not just that," Dean added. "I got a feeling when I was healed. "I felt. . . wrong, cold. And there was this man, I could've sworn it was a spirit."

Sam let out a small laugh. "If there was something like that going around, don't you think I would've picked up on it? Or Buffy?"

"Excuse me, psychic wonder! You're the one who's going to have to take this on faith. I've been hunting long enough to trust a feeling like this," Dean insisted.

"I've got the same feeling. We're at least going to check this out," Buffy said. "We're already here, what harm could looking into it do?"

Sam sighed before agreeing reluctantly. "You and Buffy are going to check out the dead guy. I'm going to express my thanks."

* * *

It was relatively easy to get into the LeGrange house. Sue Anne was a gracious hostess and the three of them sat down for coffee.

"How are you feeling?" Sue Anne asked, refilling Dean's mug before sitting back down.

"I feel fine, thank you," Dean answered, taking a sip before adding milk and sugar. "I'm just trying to figure out what happened."

"A miracle is what happened," Sue Anne answered, smiling. "They happen so often around Roy."

"When did they start, the miracles?" Dean asked, drinking more of his coffee.

"It's kinda a sad story. Earlier this year I was diagnosed with cancer after waking up one morning blind. It was stage four brain cancer, and the doctors gave me about a month. Sue Anne and I started praying for a miracle," Roy began. "I ended up in a coma about a week away from the month prognosis, and the doctors told Sue Anne that I wouldn't wake up, but I did, and the cancer was gone!"

"And then you could heal people?" Dean asked, drinking almost half his coffee in one gulp.

Roy nodded. "I discovered it afterwards. God's blessed me in many ways."

Sue Anne was bursting with pride. "And his flock swelled over night, and this is just the beginning."

Dean stood up, handing his now empty mug to Sue Anne. "I have just one last question. Out of all those people, people who believe I might add, why did you choose me? What made me stand out?" Dean asked, sounding slightly lost.

"You have a mission, even if you haven't seen it yet," Roy said. "You stood out from the rest because you have an important purpose, a job, and it's not finished."

Dean cocked his head in confusion before seeing himself out.

* * *

Buffy walked up to the information desk. "Hi. We're looking into the death of Marshall Hall. Do you know anyone we can talk to about him?" she asked. The woman directed her to someone by the name of Hank Johnson, who took them into the locker room.

"I'm telling you, he seemed healthy. He swam every day, didn't smoke. The heart attack was bizarre, came out of nowhere," Hank said as they walked.

"You said he was running before he collapsed?" Sam asked.

"Yeah," Hank muttered. "He was freaking out, saying something was after him."

"What did he say it was?" Buffy asked as Hank led them to the pool deck.

"Thin air, man. There wasn't anything. It was all in his head," Hank answered.

"Thank you," Sam said, finishing up the note he was taking. "I think we're got everything. He and Buffy turned to go, but Sam stopped. "You know that your clock's broken, right?"

"Yeah. We can't get it working. It just froze on 4:17."

"That wasn't when Marshall died, was it?" Buffy asked.

"How did you know?"

* * *

Buffy threw herself on the bed and turned on the radio, and set it to a classic rock station.

"What am I going to tell Dean?" Sam asked the room at large, shuffling through his stack of papers. "We're supposed to help people, not help in killing them."

"Sam, you didn't know. It's not your fault. This does, however, fall under something that we can fix. Buck up. This is now a hunt," Buffy declared.

The door to the motel room opened and Dean stepped in, looking shaken and unnerved.

"What happened?" Buffy asked.

"What did you find out?" Dean asked, ignoring Buffy's question.

"I'm sorry," Sam said again.

"Why?" Dean demanded.

"Marshall Hall died at 4:17," Sam said.

"The exact time you were healed," Buffy added.

"So I did some research, putting together a list of everyone Roy's healed, six since he opened his church, and cross-referenced them with the local obits," Sam explained, handing Dean the paperwork. "Each time someone was healed, someone died. Each from whatever was being healed at the time."

"Someone healed of Parkinson's, someone dies of Parkinson's?" Dean asked.

"Somehow, LeGrange is trading one life for another," Buffy agreed.

"So this guy died to save me?" Dean shouted.

"No, Dean. Marshall died to save whoever Roy picked yesterday afternoon. It just happened to be you," Buffy corrected.

"You never should've brought me here," Dean insisted.

"I was just trying to save your life!" Sam shouted back.

"Some guy is dead because of me!" Dean yelled.

"I didn't know!" Sam insisted. "What I don't get is how he's doing it."

"Oh, he's not doing it," Dean denied. "He's got something doing it for him."

It was then that Buffy realized what song was playing on the radio, it was _Don't Fear the Reaper_ by Blue Oyster Cult.

"The old man on stage, I didn't want to believe it, but deep down I think I knew," Dean muttered.

"A Reaper," Buffy concluded. "The only thing that can give and take life like that."

"Exactly," Dean agreed.

"The Grim Reaper?" Sam asked.

"Not _the_ reaper _a_ reaper," Dean stressed. "Every culture has some form of reaper lore. They go by hundreds of different names, just like demons. There's got to be more than one."

"But you saw a dude in a suit!" Sam exclaimed.

"What would you expect, the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come?" Buffy scoffed. "We saw the stopped clock. Reapers stop time."

"And you can only see them when they're comin' at you, which is why I could see it and you couldn't," Dean added.

"Did you notice the unusual cross on the table next to the chalice?" Buffy asked Sam. "The one with a mini cross on the top?"

"Yeah. It looked familiar, but I can't place it," Sam said, then pulled a deck of tarot cards. "I know I've seen it before." He began flipping through the cards.

"Stop!" Buffy called as he flipped over a card with the traditional reaper on it. "Right there at the top!"

"Tarot?" Dean asked.

"It makes sense, Dean. Tarot's been around for thousands of years when priests were still using magic," Buffy said. "A few of them decided to play with things they shouldn't like necromancy and bringing people back from the dead."

"Isn't that the same thing?" Sam asked.

"No. One creates zombies, and the other brings dead people back to the living. It takes some very rare herbs and some very rare objects, like the Urn of Osiris," Buffy explained. "When people go that dark, it's hard to save them."

"So, is Roy using black magic to bind the reaper?" Dean asked.

Sam gave a dry laugh. "If he did, he's riding the whirlwind. It's like trying to put a leash on a great white."

"Nice!" Buffy laughed. "This reaper's gotta be pissed that it's taking away life from the people who aren't close to dying."

"We've got yo stop Roy," Dean declared.

"How?" Sam asked. Dean stared at him. "We're not killing him!"

"Sam, the guy's playing god, deciding who lives and who dies! That constitutes a monster in my book!"

"What if we break whatever spell's keeping the reaper around?" Buffy suggested. "It will most likely kill whoever cast the spell, and we won't have to worry about anything."

"Alright. Let's go back in the morning. I'm beat," Sam said. He and Buffy started to get ready for bed, Dean reluctantly following their lead.

* * *

_Buffy was standing in front of a tall, attractive man. "When you become a vampire, the demon takes your body, but it doesn't take your soul, that's gone. No conscience, no remorse. It's an easy way to live. You have no idea what it's like to do the things I've done, and care. I haven't fed on a single human since that night," he was saying._

"_So you started with my mother!" Buffy shouted._

"_I didn't bite her," Angel scoffed._

"_Then why didn't you say something!" she demanded._

"_I wanted to. I can walk like a man, but I'm not one. I wanted to kill you tonight."_

_Buffy walked closer to him and exposed her neck, pulling her hair away and looking up at him. "Go ahead," she whispered. Angel stood there, looking very pained. "Not as easy as it looks, is it?"_

"_Of course it is," a new voice said. Darla stepped out of the shadows, dressed in a Catholic school outfit, with her arms behind her back. "You know what the saddest thing in the world is?"_

_Buffy looked Darla over once. "Bad hair on top of that outfit?" she taunted._

"_To love someone who used to love you," Darla answered, ignoring Buffy's comment._

"_You two were involved?" Buffy asked._

"_For several generations," Darla confirmed._

"_If you've been around since Columbus, you're bound to pile up a few exes. Between us girls, you're looking a little worn around the eyes," Buffy quipped._

_Darla wondered closer, a wide grin on her face. "I made him. There was a time when we shared everything, wasn't there, Angelus? You had a chance to come home, to rule with me in the Master's court for a thousand years, and you threw all that away for her! You love someone who hates us. You're sick! You'll always be sick! And you're going to remember what it felt like to watch her die!"_

_Angel stepped in front of Buffy, pushing her back._

"_How sweet," Darla scoffed. "You don't think I came alone, did you?"_

"_I know I didn't," Buffy answered, kicking up a crossbow._

"_Scary," Darla commented. Pulling her arms from behind her back, she commented, "Scarier." She aimed at Angel and shot him in the arm. Buffy screamed and Darla laughed. "Don't worry. Bullets can't kill vampires, then can hurt like hell, but your lover boy's fine." She started shooting again as Buffy dived behind a pool table._

* * *

Buffy sat up in bed shaking. "Are you alright?" Dean asked, pulling Buffy to his side.

"Bad nightmare," Buffy whispered.

"What was it this time?"

"The night I found out that Angel was a vampire, he attacked my mother," Buffy began.

"Your mother?" Dean asked. "You never mentioned you see Mom."

"That's because it's not our mother I see. It's another woman, don't ask because I don't understand why. Anyway I went to a night club to confront him, and he ended up telling me how he got a soul," Buffy continued.

"A vampire with a soul?" Dean laughed.

"Yeah," Buffy smiled. "As it turned out, he didn't attack my mom, his sire did, in hopes of getting us to kill the other. When Angel finished his story, she stepped out of the shadows. I could've sworn it was Layla."

"As in the woman from the church?" Dean asked.

"Yeah. Different hair cut, clothes, and attitude, but otherwise same person," Buffy agreed.

"You do know there's no such thing as vampires, right?" Sam's voice said, floating over from the other bed.

"Then why did the Watcher's Council try to recruit me to be a Vampire Slayer?" Buffy asked. "Buffy, the Vampire Slayer, it has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?"

"Yeah, I suppose," Dean said, humoring her. "Church starts at ten, I want to get more sleep, please?"

"Oh, fine!" Buffy huffed, but she settled back down and closed her eyes.

* * *

They pulled into the parking lot of Roy's church. As the three of them spilled from the car, Sam said, "If Roy's using a spell, then there's probably a spell book."

"Just one question, Roy's blind, right?" Buffy asked. "So how could he read the book to do the spells?"

"Who do you think did it then?" Dean demanded.

"His wife?" Buffy suggested. "She'd be desperate enough to do it if her husband was dying."

"We'll keep an eye out for both. We'll try and stall Roy, while Sam goes to look for the spell book," Dean ordered. Buffy and Sam nodded their heads in agreement.

They passed a protester, who Buffy recognized as being there the day before. "Roy LeGrange is a fraud!"

"Amen, brother," Dean agreed, as he and Buffy passed him.

"Keep up the good work," Buffy encouraged.

Dean and Buffy sat on the outside aisle, and waited for the summon to start. The tent was almost full when Dean's phone rang. "What do you have?" he asked.

"Whoever's controlling the reaper is choosing victims they see as immoral, and I think I know who's next," Sam said.

"Who?"

"Remember that protester?" Sam asked.

"They guy in the parking lot?" Dean asked, motioning Buffy to go find the protester. "Buffy's going after him."

"You can't let Roy heal anyone, Dean," Sam warned.

"Yeah, I know," Dean snapped, closing his phone, just as Layla was called to be healed.

Buffy didn't have much trouble finding the protester. He was the only one out in the paring lot, and he appeared to be running from something.

"Where is it?" Buffy asked, as she drew even with him.

"Over there," he said, pointing to his left.

Buffy pulled the man behind her and closed her eyes, trying to use her senses to find the reaper. "Got ya," she whispered, catching an invisible hand as the reaper reached for the man behind her.

Sam appeared behind her and urged the man to run. Buffy kept the reaper with her as long as she could, but it wasn't very long. She let go quickly and chased after Sam. "Dean called. He stopped the healing."

"Then something's wrong," Buffy said, "that man's still terrified." The man inhaled deeply when she finished speaking.

"It's gone. Thank you."

* * *

Dean was escorted out of the tent by two police officers and Sue Anne. "I don't understand, Dean. After all we've done for you, after Roy healed you. We're very disappointed," she said, shaking her head. "You can let him go, sheriff. I'm not going to press charges."

Layla walked up behind Dean, a sad look on her face. "Why would you do that, Dean? When it could be my only chance?"

"He's not a healer!" Dean insisted.

"He healed you!" Layla pointed out.

"No, he didn't," Buffy interrupted, walking over to support her brother. "He killed someone to give Dean a second chance."

"I don't understand," Layla said.

"Roy's exchanging the lives of those he sees as morally incorrect for those he's healing," Buffy explained. "It's not a good thing."

"I don't believe you," Layla said, then stalked away.

"Why did you do that?" Dean asked.

"She was tearing into you for no reason. I had to look after my family," Buffy reasoned as the two of them walked over to Sam, passing Roy, Sue Anne, Layla, and her mother.

"Come by tonight. We'll have a private session with no interruptions. We'll heal Layla tonight," Roy was saying.

* * *

"You were right, it was Sue Anne," Dean sighed, throwing himself on his bed. "I don't think Roy has any idea what his wife's doing."

"You find anything, Sam?" Buffy asked.

"As a matter of fact, I did." He held up a tiny black book that looked several centuries old. "It's ancient and written by a priest that went dark side. Among other things, there is a binding ritual to trap a reaper."

Dean took the book and began to flip through it. "Must be one hell of a ritual," he muttered.

"That's one way of looking at it," Buffy agreed, looking over Dean's shoulder. "Looks like you have to build a dark alter."

"Yeah. With some seriously dark stuff. Bones, human blood, to cross a line like that. You'd have to be desperate," Sam continued.

"Her husband was dying, and apparently, she was willing to do anything," Dean said.

"Cheating death, something that everyone wishes they could do," Buffy said. "So, her husband didn't die, so why keep the reaper around? To kill people she thinks are immoral."

"God save us from the morons who think they're doing god's work," Dean muttered.

"We've got to break that spell, guys," Sam insisted.

Dean looked down in the spell book, which was still open and in his hand. He noticed the cross in the book. "You know, Sue Anne had a Coptic cross like this one," Dean said.

"Okay, so do we destroy the alter, or the cross?" Buffy asked.

"Both?" Dean guessed. "Either way, we need to do this tonight. Layla's being healed tonight."

* * *

"That's Layla's car," Dean said as he pulled up beside it in the parking lot.

"Yeah," Dean sighed.

"Don't do this to yourself, Dean," Buffy warned.

"You know, if Roy had chosen her instead of me, she'd be healed by now," Dean muttered.

"Yeah, and if you had thought to get out of the water before tasering the rawhead, we wouldn't be here, and Marshall Hall would've died to save someone else. We can't change the past, Dean, and you know that," Buffy scolded him. "You said it yourself. You can't play god."

"I know."

The three of them got out of the car and looked around. Roy and Layla were visible on a stage in the tent, surrounded by a group of people. "Where's Sue Anne?" Sam asked.

"I'd guess the house," Buffy answered.

"You two go after Sue Anne, I'll catch up," Dean said, before taking off in a run. "You willing to put that fear of god in me?"

* * *

"You think her alter's in the house?" Buffy asked walking toward the house.

"Tradition would put it in the basement," Sam argued, "and tradition is a big part of most black spells."

"Yeah, but Roy's blind. He wouldn't be able to stop it," Buffy argued back.

"Well, there's also the fact that they're no light coming from the house, and there is from the basement," Sam pointed to the outside door.

"Smart ass," Buffy pouted. "You do down and destroy it, I'll keep an eye out up here."

Sam nodded and carefully made his way downstairs. The room was bare, except for an alter in the middle of the room. Bones were scattered over the table, dried blood adorned the table cloth, and there was a single photograph. Dean's face was sitting on the table, the picture from one of the security cameras. On Dean's face was an 'X' made with fresh blood.

"I gave your brother life, and I can take it away," Sue Anne spoke from behind Sam.

He spun around and saw her step through the door leading to the inside of the house. She had a smug smile on her face as she watched the fury build in Sam's. Sam walked around the alter and overturned it. That didn't have any effect on Sue Anne's smiling face. She instead turned a key in the door she came out of and ran to the door leading to the outside. She made it out and slid a nearby metal bar into the door handles, effectively locking the door.

"Sam, can't you see? The lord choose me to reward the just and punish the wicked! Your brother is wicked, and he deserves to die as much as Layla deserves to live! Goodbye, Sam."

"You're not going to get away that easily."

Sue Anne turned around. Buffy was behind her, arms crossed over her chest, hair in a ponytail, and had an expression that once had vampires and creatures of darkness cringing.

"Who are you?" Sue Anne asked.

"I need something from you," Buffy said, walking forward and stopping mere inches away from the older woman. Sue Anne shrank back at every step Buffy took, and was soon stopped by the house. "Your cross?"

"No."

"Fine. I'll take it if you won't give it to me." Buffy reached for Sue Anne's neck and maneuvered the struggling woman into a sleeper hold. After she lowered the unconscious woman to the ground, she released Sam. "Which cross is it?"

Sam bent over the woman and pointed to a glass cross with something in it. "I think that's it."

Buffy picked the cross up and felt a dark power leaking out of it. She untangled it from the four other crosses Sue Anne was wearing and threw it against the house and it fell to pieces on the grass.

Mere seconds after the cross was broken, Buffy and Sam watched as Sue Anne was made a victim of the reaper she had kept as a prisoner.

* * *

Buffy and Sam were finishing up their packing the next morning while Dean moped. "Did we do the right thing?"

"Yes, Dean, we did." Buffy's tone broke no argument.

"It didn't feel like it," he muttered.

There was a knock on the door. Sam got up and invited Layla to enter. "How did you know we were here?" Dean asked.

"Sam called and said you had something you wanted to say goodbye," Layla said.

"We're just going to start packing the car," Sam excused, trying to pull Buffy out after him.

"Just one question. Does the name Angelus mean anything to you?" Buffy asked.

Layla scrunched up her face in thought. "I don't think so, should it?"

"I guess not," she shrugged, following Sam out the door.

* * *

"Did you get the results done?" Giles asked.

"Yep!" Willow announced. "Buffy is their sister. That is both good news and bad news."

"The good news?" Dawn asked.

"We've found the people the prophecy's about. It's these three that are destined to both save and end the world," Willow answered.

"The bad news?" Faith asked.

"Buffy's current DNA sample doesn't match up to the ones on file from both the Council's database and the sample we took from her belongings. There's no sign that she ever was Buffy Summers," Willow explained. "I checked Dawn's DNA to check against. You and Buffy are still sisters, but your DNA didn't change. I can't explain it."

"So, will she ever remember being Buffy Summers?" Xander asked.

"It's unclear, but we've already see her remember some things," Willow said.

"Let's wait and see," Giles mused.


	9. Nightmare

Nightmare

Sam bolted up in bed, sweat trickling down his face. He was breathing heavily and his heart was racing. He jumped out of bed and shook Buffy's shoulder, then Dean's. "Wake up! Get up now!"

Buffy woke instantly and drew her knife from under her pillow and held it out protectively. "What's wrong?"

"What are you doing, man? It's the middle of the night!" Dean asked sleepily.

"We have to go," Sam insisted, packing his belongings into his duffel bag.

"Why?" Buffy asked, relaxing and sheathing her knife.

Sam ignored the question. He shoved Buffy and Dean's things into their bags and stood up, glaring at his siblings. "We have to go. Right now."

Dean and Buffy were herded into the Impala and Dean drove off. It wasn't for another twenty minutes that Dean finally pulled the entire story out of Sam.

"You saw a man get stuck inside his car, inside his garage, and he died?" Dean summarized.

"Yeah, if you want to get all unemotional about it," Sam grumbled.

"And we need to get to Michigan for what reason?" Buffy asked.

"We need to save him!" Sam insisted.

"How sure are you that this actually happened, or will happen?" Buffy asked.

"I was right about Lawrence, wasn't I? I was right about Jess's death, and I did nothing. I'm not going to let someone die because I didn't believe the warnings I was given," Sam vowed.

"Our house in Kansas, your girlfriend, you know people involved with both of those incidents. Why would you be dreaming about some random man in Michigan?" Dean asked.

"I don't know," Sam admitted. "But there's got to be some connection, some reason I saw it happen."

"Well, did you get any details from your dream that we could check? Like the plates on the car?" Buffy asked, reluctantly.

"Yeah. I'll call the local police, maybe they'll be able to get something," Sam agreed. Fifteen minutes later, the police was calling him back. "The car is owned by one Jim Miller, from Saginow. How far out are we?"

"A few hours."

"Drive faster."

* * *

They got to a blue two story house early in the morning. They could tell it was the right house because there was a small crowd in front of it. There were two police cars and an ambulance on the same side of the road the house was on. Three people, Buffy assumed were Mr. Miller's family, were standing on the tiny front steps talking to a police officer.

Buffy, Sam, and Dean parked the Impala several houses away and walked over to the house. "What happened?" Buffy asked a nearby woman.

"Suicide. I can hardly believe it," she answered.

"Did you know him?" Sam asked.

"I saw him every week at St. Augustine's. He always seemed so. . . normal. I guess you never know what's going on behind closed doors," she answered.

"Did they say how it happened?" Dean asked.

"They found him in the garage with the engine running about an hour ago. I can't imagine what his family's going though," she muttered before walking away, leaving Dean Buffy and Sam a few yards away from the rest of the crowd.

Buffy and Dean turned to look at Sam. "We got here as fast as we could," Dean consoled.

"I know." Sam's voice was hollow. "It just doesn't make any sense, Dean. Why would I even have these premonitions if I can't stop them?"

"I don't know, Sammy." Dean admitted.

"Maybe they're just warnings, like mine are," Buffy guessed.

"Did you have one tonight?" Sam asked.

Buffy shook her head. "No, Sammy boy. I didn't. I don't know any more about this than you do."

"Maybe the guy just killed himself, Sam. Maybe this isn't our type of gig," Dean suggested.

Sam shook his head. "I watched it happen, Dean! He was trapped in the garage, murdered by something!"

"By what then, huh? A sprit? Poltergeist?" Dean demanded.

"I don't know!" Sam insisted. "I don't know why I'm having these dreams! I don't know what the hell is going on!" He noticed the expression on Buffy's face. "What!"

"Nothing," Buffy answered, shaking her head. "I"m just worried about you."

"Well, don't look at me like that!"

"I'm sorry."

"Let's find a motel. You look like crap," Dean suggested.

"Yeah, you're right. We can pick this up in the morning," Buffy said.

"You've seen them! There not going to want to talk to us," Sam insisted.

Buffy and Dean exchanged a glance. "I think I know who the will want to talk to," Dean said.

* * *

Sam shook his head, messing with his collar. "This is a whole new low for us, man," he muttered as Dean pressed the doorbell.

Dean gave Sam a small grin, then turned his attention to the man who had opened the front door. "Hello. I'm Father Simmons, this is Father Frehley. We're junior priests at St. Augustine's. May we come in?"

The man stood aside and closed the door as Sam came in "We're very sorry for your loss."

"If you want to pitch the whole 'god has a plan' story, try someone else. My brother's dead!" he said bitterly.

"Roger!" a woman scolded. "Please!"

"I'm sorry, Edna," Roger said, turning and walking away. "Excuse me."

"I'm sorry about my brother-in-law," she apologized. "He's just very upset about Jim's death. Can I get you anything?"

"Coffee, if you don't mind," Dean requested.

A few minutes later she returned, a cup of coffee in each hand. Sam and Dean were sitting on opposite couches and she joined Dean. "Thank you so much for coming. The support of the church means so much right now."

"Of course. After all, we are all god's children," Dean said, taking a mini-sandwich off the plate on the coffee table and ignoring the confused look on Sam's face. "So, Mrs. Miller, did your husband have a history of depression?"

"No, nothing like that. I mean, we had our ups and downs, but we were happy," Edna began to cry. "I just don't understand how Jim could do something like that."

Sam sighed and shook his head. "I'm sorry you had to find him like that."

"I didn't find him. Our son, Max, he found him."

"Do you mind if I talk to him?"

"Oh, would you, Father?" she exclaimed. "Thank you!"

Sam gave an uncertain smile and walked over to Max, who was sitting in the corner of the dining room, all by himself near the table.

* * *

Buffy was lying on her bed back at the cabin they rented for their stay. She had spent her time trying to find any information she could get on the Millers and had found a lot. The more she found out, the more she was certain that whatever was going on was somehow connecting Sam and Max. She wasn't sure how, but that would come later, from pieces that Sam and Dean would get from the Millers later on.

There were several referrals to CPS, but almost all of them were swept under the carpet and not looked into very well. It looked like an inside job, somehow. Each of the Winchester children knew from an early age that every time someone was referred to CPS, an investigation was required by law, every single time. The accusations that Max was being beaten on a regular basis were only investigated three times, and there were at least fifteen referrals, several by the same people.

A lot of the accusations were focused on Max's dad and his uncle, who lived next door. The stepmother didn't appear to do anything, either to stop them or encourage them. Buffy shook her head. This was some seriously messed up kid, no matter which way you looked at it.

* * *

She looked up as the door opened. "You find anything?" Dean asked, quickly changing back into his normal clothes.

"Depends on how you look at things, but I found a lot," Buffy answered, splitting up the papers she printed out and handing half to each brother. "I focused on the family, more than their house, so I still have to do that, but, it was a pretty bleak family, for Max anyway." There were flashes of the dark haired man from Indiana, Xander, with bruises and a sprained wrist.

"What do you mean?" Dean's voice brought her out of her flashback.

"There were multiple referrals to CPS about his father and uncle beating him. The Michigan CPS, however, didn't do a good job. All but three referrals look like they've been ignored, or overlooked," Buffy answered slowly, rubbing her face. "His stepmother didn't do anything to stop the abuse, but she didn't beat him either, according to the guy who lived across the street."

"His _stepmother_?" Sam asked, emphasizing the last word.

"Yeah. His birth mother died in a fire. In the nursery. When Max was six moths old," Buffy replied, holding out the police report.

"I don't get it," Dean shook his head and began looking around the room.

"Your bag is on the floor in between the beds," Buffy said, not taking her eyes off her computer.

"Thank you."

"Sam, why don't you grab dinner while Dean calms down and I look up the house."

* * *

Sam arrived back at the cabin about an hour later to find Buffy lying on his bed and Dean cleaning his weapons on the other. "Did you find anything on the house?"

Buffy sighed, leaning back in her chair. "Nothing bad has happened in that house since it was built. The land is clean too. No battlefields, graveyards, or any else that I could think of. The family was normal?"

"If there was something there, I think we would've found it. I used both the infrared thermal scanner and the EMF. I didn't find anything," Dean said, putting the gun he was working on back together and reaching for the shotgun.

"So what, you think that Jim Miller killing himself and me watching was just a coincidence?" Sam scoffed, handing Buffy her food and putting Dean's within his reach.

"I don't know, but there is nothing supernatural about that house," Dean answered, putting down the gun and reaching for his oilcloth. He wiped off his hands and caught the hand sanitizer Buffy tossed to him. He rubbed his hands together then reached for his food.

Sam sat down on the bed across from Dean, dropping his own food beside him. "Yeah, maybe. Or it could have nothing to do with the house." He started rubbing his temples and began to force his words out. "Maybe. . . it's connected to. . . Jim some other way. Oh god!" Sam fell to his knees in the aisle between the beds.

"Sam?" Buffy called, jumping up and grabbing him. Sam was curled into a ball, eyes clamped shut. He was grunting in pain, clutching at his head. Dean hadn't wasted any time either and was on Sam's other side, rubbing his back.

The whole fit couldn't have lasted more than a minute, but it felt like hours to Buffy. She was way out of her element, and she didn't like it at all. She knew Dean felt the same way. He hated it when he didn't know what was going on.

Sam froze and Buffy exhaled in relief. "Are you alright, Sammy boy?" she asked, cradling his head.

"It's happening again," Sam gasped. "Something's going to kill Roger Miller!"

"You get the address?" Buffy asked from the passenger's side seat.

"Yeah," Sam said, hanging up his cell phone. "450 West Grove, apartment 1120."

* * *

Dean glanced at Sam through the rear view mirror. "You alright?

"I'm fine," Sam answered in a flat voice.

"No, you're not," Buffy corrected gently.

"No, I'm not," Sam conceded. "I'm terrified. The nightmares were bad enough. Now I'm having them when I'm awake too? And this visions, or whatever they are, they're getting more and more intense and painful."

"You do know that you're going to be fine, don't you?" Dean asked. "It's going to be fine."

Sam shook his head. "I don't get it. What is it about the Millers that I'm latching onto? Why am I watching them die? What the hell is going on?"

"It's going to be fine. We deal with the unexplainable every day, and this is just another thing," Dean said.

"It's never been in the family like this, no matter what Buffy's been through. Tell me the truth, that this doesn't freak you out. Either of you," Sam implored.

"This doesn't freak me out," Dean repeated after a small pause.

"Buffy?"

"It doesn't matter if this freaks me out or not. We are going to figure out what's going on. But for the record, it doesn't."

* * *

They reached the apartment complex quickly and all three spilled out of the Impala.

"What does Roger look like?" Buffy asked, scanning the sidewalk for people, spotting seven potentials.

"He's right there." Dean pointed to a balding man carrying two paper shopping bags near the entrance to the apartment building.

Sam took off and confronted Roger. "Hey, you're in danger!"

"What are you guys, missionaries?" he scoffed. "Leave me alone."

"Hey! We're trying to help you!" Dean shouted. He and Sam followed Roger to the doors of the building. "Please! Listen to us!"

"I don't want your help. Go away and leave me alone!" Roger shouted before slamming the door in Sam and Dean's faces.

"Come on!" Dean shouted, running around to the side of the building to the fire escape.

* * *

Buffy was already even with the second floor when Dean and Sam joined her. Quickly, they made their way up the stairs. All too soon there was a thump and a splattering noise. Buffy froze and Sam and Dean went around her up the next staircase. There was blood all over the glass and Roger's head was sitting in the flower bed hanging on the window sill.

Buffy and Sam went back down the stairs and Dean left through the apartment, after taking a look around. They met at the Impala and drove back to their cabin in silence. When Dean opened the door to the cabin, Buffy broke the silence. "What did you find, if anything?"

"Nothing. Just like the Miller's house, there was no sign of anything up our alley."

"There had to be something. In the vision, there was this dark shape. I think something was stalking him," Sam said.

"That may be, but if we don't know what it is, then we can't get rid of it," Buffy sighed.

"Whatever it is, it's not connected to the house," Dean said.

"What about the family as a whole? What do you think, vengeful sprit?" Sam asked.

"Possible," Buffy cocked her head to the side, thinking. "There are cases where a spirit's connected to a family and followed them for years."

"Banshees," Dean said.

"Like a curse. Maybe Roger and Jim got into something that they shouldn't and now it's going after the men in the family. Do you think Max is in trouble?" Sam asked.

"Let's confirm our theory before we jump to conclusions," Buffy cautioned.

"Well, I know one thing I've got in common with these people," Sam grumbled. "Both our families are cursed."

"Our family's not cursed!" Dean protested. "We've just got our dark spots."

"Our dark spots are pretty dark," Sam said.

"Lighten up, Sammy," Buffy said. "We could be fighting the end of the world once a year instead. I think we got off easy."

* * *

Buffy insisted on coming with Sam and Dean when they went back to the Miller's house. Sam finally gave up, but Dean was more persistent in trying to get her to stay behind. Buffy won the argument when she asked, "Who would you rather talk to, Dean? A pretty girl or a handsome priest?"

The three of them were on their way the next morning, Sam and Dean in their priest outfits and Buffy in a black dress. They were let in the house by Max. "My mother's not feeling well."

"I'm very sorry, but I can't say I blame her," Dean said, following Max into the living room, Sam and Buffy on his heels.

Max glanced into the dining room, where casseroles and other food items covered every available place on the table. "People keep stopping by with food. I finally had to tell them to go away. It's like nothing says 'I'm sorry' like a tuna casserole or a bunt cake."

Dean and Sam cracked small smiles and Buffy and Max chuckled.

"I don't remember you. Were you here last time?" Max asked Buffy.

"This is my first time here. I was coming to town to visit my brother, and when he told me people from his church had died, I wanted to express my condolences," Buffy explained, latching onto Sam's arm.

"Thank you."

"How are you holding up?" Buffy asked Max.

"I'm okay, I guess," Max shrugged.

"Your dad and uncle were close?" Sam asked, trying to pry any information out of Max, to see if he could verify anything that Buffy had found.

"I guess. I mean, they were brothers," Max answered.

"But not lately?" Dean asked.

"It's not that," Max said, leaning forward in his chair and staring at the floor. "It's just. . . we used to be neighbors when I was little. We lived across town and Uncle Roger lived next door. He was over every chance he got."

"Right, so how was it in that house, when you were a kid?" Sam asked.

Max scrunched up his face in confusion. "It was fine. Why?"

"All good memories then? Do you remember anything unusual? Something with your father and uncle, maybe?" Dean asked.

Max fell back against the back of his armchair, glaring at Dean. "We were happy," Max said in a flat, unemotional voice. "There was nothing. We were totally normal."

"I think we should get going. Thank you very much for having us, Max. You should get some rest," Buffy said, standing and pulling on Sam's sleeve.

"Yeah. Thank you," Dean agreed. He and Sam got up and the three of them showed themselves out.

* * *

"I don't care who you talk to, no one's family's totally normal," Dean insisted as they entered their room.

"Did you notice the way he was talking about his old house?" Sam asked. "He sounded scared."

"I don't think the abuse stopped," Buffy said sadly. "And that's why he's so afraid."

"Do you think the spirit latched onto Max, and it's killing to protect him?" Dean asked.

"It's possible," Sam agreed.

"Do you know anything about Max's birth mother, other than she died?" Dean asked, turning to Buffy.

She rifled through her papers and found the one she was looking for. "Yeah. She was killed in a. . . oh god, why didn't I notice this before? She was killed in a fire that originated in the nursery, when Max was six months old."

She looked up to find Dean crouching next to Sam, who was clutching his head and moaning in pain. Buffy got pain pills and handed them to Sam, with a bottle of water, when he gasped for breath. "Max. He's doing it!"

* * *

"Max has been doing everything I've been seeing," Sam repeated as Dean was driving to the Miller house, this time all three in casual clothes.

"Are you sure?" Buffy asked.

"Yeah."

"How?" Dean asked.

"It looked like telekinesis," Sam answered, rubbing his forehead.

"So he's psychic? A spoonbender?" Dean asked.

"Well, we both have psychic abilities, We're both. . ."

"Don't finish that sentence, Sam," Buffy interrupted. "You and Max are nothing alike."

"He's a monster who has already killed two people, and now you say he's after a third. He's just like everything else we've hunted," Dean agreed, inserting a clip into his favorite gun.

"We're not going to kill him!" Sam insisted.

"Then what? We going to hand him to the cops and say 'Lock him up, he kills with the power of his mind'?"

"Forget it! I'm not going to let you kill him!"

"Sam!" Dean growled.

"Dean!" Sam copied. "He's a person, we can talk to him!"

Buffy silently counted to three, and right on cue both brothers spun in their seats to ask her for her opinion. "The killings have to stop. Since we can't talk to him after he's dead as easily, let's talk to him first. If all else fails, then we can kill him."

Dean and Sam nodded their heads in agreement and the three of them got out of the car.

* * *

Dean kicked down the door and the three of them ran into the kitchen, Sam in the lead. "Fathers?" Edna breathed in surprise. Her eyes were bloodshot and very red.

"What are you doing here?" Max asked, shyly, his eyes just as red as his stepmother's, as if he had been crying.

"Uh, Max, could we talk to you outside, for a second?" Sam asked, pointing to the front door.

"About what?" Max asked, confused.

"It's private. I don't want to worry your mother," Sam said. Max nodded and stepped into the living room "Buffy, why don't you help Mrs. Miller clean up a little."

Buffy nodded and ushered Edna into the kitchen just as Max reached the front door.

Suddenly the front door, as well as all the windows slammed shut.

"You're not priests!" Max shouted as Buffy ran back into the living room, followed by Edna.

"Max, what's going on?" she asked.

"Shut up!" Max shouted. Dean took Max's distraction for his only chance and drew the gun, but it was yanked from his hands before he could fire.

"Max, what's going on?" Edna cried, confused.

"I said shut up!" Max shouted, throwing her against the wall before hurling her into the kitchen counter, where she hit her head and collapsed on the floor.

"Max, calm down!" Sam urged.

"Who are you?" Max demanded, spinning back around to keep both Sam and Dean in front of him.

"We just want to talk to you," Sam implored, holding his hands out in a non threatening way.

"Yeah right. That's why you brought this!" Max hissed, using his abilities to point the gun in the general direction of the brothers. "What about your story?" Max asked Buffy. "What did you lie about?"

"Nothing," Buffy answered. "I am Sam's sister."

"Bringing the gun was a mistake, alright? I admit it. So no more lying about what we are, okay Max? Just please hear us out!" Sam implored.

"About what?" Max demanded.

"I saw you do it, Max. I saw you kill your uncle and your father before it happened!"

"What?" Max hissed.

"I've been having visions about you, Max," Sam said.

"You're crazy," Max accused hesitantly.

Sam inhaled and pointed to his eye. "So you weren't about to kill your stepmom? Weren't going to launch a knife through her eye?" He slowly lowered his arm to his side. "Is it really that hard to believe when you look at what you can do? I think I was drawn here, Max. I think I'm supposed to help you!"

Dean and Buffy exchanged confused and exasperated looks. The gun, which Max had been lowering as Sam talked to him shot back up to its previous position, shaking slightly. "No one can help me!" Max shouted.

"Let me try, please?" Sam begged. "It'll be just the two of us. Let Buffy, Dean, and your stepmom go, and we'll talk."

"No one leaves!" Max shouted. The vase on a nearby table shattered and the light above Buffy's head began to rattle.

"Okay, okay," Sam conceded. "No one leaves. You're the one in charge. No one's going to do anything you don't want them to."

"Max," Buffy called, for the fist time since being addressed. "Just give him some time to explain. Five minutes."

Max nodded. "Five minutes," he repeated, the lights coming to a standstill. When Buffy went to help Edna, Max shook his head. "You stay."

Buffy nodded, stepping further into the room. Dean walked passed her and helped Edna up, guiding her up the stairs.

* * *

A few minutes later all three were seated in the living room, Max facing Sam and Buffy. Max stared at a silver letter opener and slowly brought it up so it was standing on its point and begun to spin it, using his powers.

"Listen I can't begin to imagine what you went through," Sam began.

"That's right, you can't," Max forced out through clenched teeth.

"But this has to stop," Sam continued.

"It will," Max agreed. "After my stepmother."

"No, you have to let her go," Sam said, with a note of finality.

"Why?" Max demanded. The letter opener began to speed up, spinning so fast you could begin to see it sink into the table.

"Did she beat you?" Sam asked softly.

"No, but she didn't stop them either. She's a part of it too!"

"Look, what they all did to you, growing up, they deserve to be punished, but. . ."

"Growing up?" Max spat. "Try last week!" He lifted his shirt, exposing what should've been his chest. Instead it was a mass of black, blue, red and yellow, without a spot of unblemished skin. "My dad still beat me, just in places where people wouldn't see. Old habits die hard, I guess." He pulled his shirt down.

"I'm so sorry, Max," Buffy whispered, as Sam sat there stunned.

The letter opener spun faster. "When I first found out I could move things, it was a gift. My whole life I was helpless, but now I've got a weapon that no one would ever think I could have. So when Dad got drunk last week, for the first time in a long time, he beats me to hell. It's the first time in a long time, but I know what I have to do."

"Why didn't you try to get away?" Sam asked, jumping as the letter opener dropped onto the table with an echoing thump.

"It's not that easy, Sam," Buffy said in a soft voice.

"It wasn't about getting away," Max said, shaking his head. "It was about not being afraid. About not wondering if Dad is going to come into my room in the middle of the night. About being able to breathe without somehow setting him off. If I left he'd be able to get at me some how. When my dad used to look at me, there would be hate in his eyes. Do you know what that feels like?"

"No," Sam whispered, as Buffy shook her head.

"He blamed me for everything. For his job, his life, for Mom's death."

That last one confused Sam. "He blamed you for your mom's death?"

Max gave a dry, humorless laugh. "Yeah. There was a fire. He'd babble about it when he was drunk, like she died in some insane way. He said that she burned up! Pinned to the ceiling!"

Sam's eyes widened and he glanced at Buffy. "It's true. What your dad said is true."

"What?" Max asked, disbelievingly.

"It happened to my mom too. Exactly the same. My crib, my nursery. My dad saw her on the ceiling," Sam said excitedly.

"Then your dad's a drunk as mine!" Max denied.

"No, it's got to have been the same thing," Buffy said.

"That's not possible," Max denied again.

Sam shook his head. "This must be why I'm getting visions during the day, why they're getting more intense! You and I must be connected some way! Your abilities, they started, six, seven months ago?" Sam's voice expressing his excitement.

"How did you know?" Max demanded, shrinking further into his chair the more excited Sam got.

"Because that's when mine started!" Sam exclaimed. "Yours seem to be much further along, but still, this is something, right? I mean, for some reason you and I, we were chosen!"

"Oh god," Buffy muttered. "Being chosen's never a good thing."

"Chosen for what?" Max asked, growing paler.

"I don't know," Sam admitted. "But Dean and I, we hunting down our mothers' killer. And we can find answers. Answers that can help us both. But you have to let them go. You have to let your stepmother go!"

Buffy could tell by the sudden change in the air that Sam had just hit the reset switch. He had just lost any ground he might've gained.

"NO! What they did to me, I still have nightmares!" Max shouted, getting to his feet. "I'm still scared all the time, like I'm just waiting for the next beating! I'm tired of being afraid all the time! If I do this, it will be over!"

"You don't get it, do you?" Sam asked, pity entering his voice. "The nightmares won't end. It's just more pain, Max, and it makes you as bad as them. Max, you don't have to be alone any more."

Max stepped over to Buffy and looked up at Sam. "I'm sorry."

Sam's eyes widened a second before he was pulled back and thrown into a closet. "No! Max, don't do this!"

Max pulled the china cabinet in front of the closet.

"What are you going to do with me, Max?" Buffy asked, ignoring the sound of Sam trying to get out.

"Are you going to stop me?" he demanded.

"I don't think I'd have much luck if I tried," Buffy replied, shrugging. "But don't think that I agree with what you're doing."

"Aren't you and your brothers doing the same thing?" Max demanded.

"We are fighting to make the world a better place. For us, our demons aren't people. Yours are. It's a slightly different situation," Buffy answered. "But I can't let you kill your stepmother."

"Are you going to stop me?" Max repeated.

"Are you going to make me stop you?" Buffy asked in response.

"Yes."

* * *

Dean was carefully cleaning the nasty cut on Edna's head when Max opened the door using his powers. Dean stood up, placing himself protectively in front of Edna. "Max?" she called, watching her stepson fearfully.

"Stay away. This isn't about you," Max said to Dean. He raised his hand and held Dean's gun, pointing it at his mother. Carefully he let go, using his telekinetic ability to keep the gun in place

"If you want to get to her, you have to go through me first," Dean growled.

Max's smile was the coldest Dean had ever seen. "Okay."

"No!" Sam shouted as he burst through the door. "Don't! Please, Max! We can help you! But this is not the solution. It's not going to fix anything."

Max nodded sadly. "You're right." Before anyone could move, Max swung the gun around and shot himself in the forehead.

* * *

An hour later, the police were back at the Miller house. Edna was sitting on her couch wrapped in a blanket as she told the police what happened.

"How did you end up in the basement?" Dean asked, checking Buffy over for the tenth time, cataloging her bruises.

"He threw me down there because it's the only room in the house that locks from the other side that I couldn't get out of," Buffy answered, lifting the ice pack off her head as Dean took a look.

"We'll call you if we have anymore questions," the officer who was talking to Edna said on his way out.

"Thank you," Dean said. The three of them left shortly afterwards.

* * *

Sam and Dean were finishing up the packing, checking to make sure that they had everything important and weren't leaving anything that they wanted. "If I had said something different, gotten through somehow. . ." Sam lamented.

"Don't do that, Sammy," Dean warned.

"Do what?" Sam asked.

"Torture yourself," Buffy answered, walking in. "There's nothing you could've done to save him. Max was too far gone."

"When I think about how he looked at me, right before. . . I just feel that I could've done something," Sam said.

"We almost gave our lives, Sam. I think we did enough, considering we didn't get there twenty years earlier," Dean said.

"I guess you're right, but I'll tell you one thing. We're lucky we had Dad," Sam said.

"I never thought I'd hear you say that," Dean admitted.

Sam shrugged. "A little more booze, a little less demon hunting, and we could've had Max's childhood."

Buffy and Dean stopped what they were doing, both drifting back in thought. Neither knew how long they were lost in thought, but Sam's voice drew both of them out of their thoughts. "I've been thinking."

"That's never a good thing," Dean quipped.

Sam made a face. "I'm serious. I've been thinking. Why would this demon, or whatever this thing is, kill Mom, Jessica, or Max's mother? What does it want?"

"No idea," Dean answered quickly.

"Do you think it was after us? Max and me?" Sam asked.

"It's not about you, Sam. If it wanted you or Max, it would've taken you. This isn't your fault, and it's not about you," Buffy declared.

"It's about that damn thing that did this to our families. We're going to find it, and kill it. That's all," Dean continued.

"Actually, there's something else," Sam said, sitting down on the edge of one of the beds. "When Max shut me in that closet, he shoved that cabinet in front of the door. I moved it."

"You have greater upper body strength than I give you credit for," Dean congratulated.

"No, Dean. I moved it," Sam repeated.

"Oh," Buffy said, eyes widening.

Dean picked up a discarded spoon. "Bend this."

"Goddamn it, Dean! I can't turn it on and off!" Sam shouted in exasperation.

"I'm sure it's not going to happen again," Buffy said, pulling Sam into a hug.

"Yeah, maybe. Why aren't you worried, either of you? Don't you think I could turn into Max?" Sam demanded, allowing Buffy to hold him.

"Nope," Dean smiled, packing the last of his things in his duffel bag.

"Why not?" Sam demanded.

"You have one advantage that Max didn't have," Buffy said softly.

"Dad?" Sam scoffed, pulling out of Buffy's embrace. "Because Dad's not here!"

"Not Dad," Dean said, smiling. "Us. As long as you have Buffy and me around, nothing bad is going to hurt you."

"Now, with your premonitions, I know where we have to go next!" Buffy said, pulling Sam out of the cabin.

"Where?"

"Vegas! We'll win big each time!" Buffy answered in a 'duh' tone.

* * *

"Lisa knows what we're doing," Willow sighed.

"How did she find out?" Xander demanded.

"Apparently she got suspicious and had Andrew bug the room back at headquarters," Willow answered.

"Now we don't have to hide what we're doing," Giles said, "and we can go forward. We need to contact Buffy, and get her to trust us."

"How?" Faith asked. "Do you remember how hard it was to find them before? It was almost blind luck the first time!"

"It's the best idea we've got," Giles conceded. "We've got to tell them what's going on, and fast. Time's is beginning to run out. Has anyone seen Spike?"


	10. Shadow

Shadow

Buffy read the headline for the tenth time that day. _Search For Savage Killer Ongoing_ blared on the front page of the Chicago Tribune. "Impressive find, Sammy."

"Hmm?" Sam grunted, looking up from his directions. "I knew as soon as I saw the headline that it was one of ours. Here's the place."

"You know, I've got to say that when we were with Dad, the three of us did just fine without these costumes," Dean grumbled, tugging on the collar of his jumpsuit.

He and Sam were dressed in jumpsuits from ADT. They were going in posing as repairmen for the alarm company and were going to buzz Buffy in as soon as they were left alone. Dean walked around the car and took out a 'toolkit' out of the trunk.

"You want to pull this off or not?" Sam sighed. He remembered what the standing operating procedure was before he left for school. If the witness was male, Dad sent Buffy to charm any relevant information out of him, if it were female, Dad sent Dean. If it was an authority figure, it was Dad's job, kid or someone shy, it was his job.

"I'm just saying, these outfits cost hard earned money!" Dean huffed.

"Whose?" Sam demanded.

"Ours! You think fraud is easy?" Dean asked, pointedly ignoring Buffy laughing as the two of them walked across the street.

* * *

Twenty minutes later Buffy entered the apartment. "So, a killer walks in and out of the apartment, no weapons, prints, anything?" she asked as she walked through the door.

"Yep," Sam confirmed. "This is most certainly one of ours."

"I'm inclined to believe you," Dean said, holding out the EMF he had just turned on. "This is lighting up like a Christmas tree."

"What did you get from the cops?" Sam asked, pulling out a few more items from the toolbox.

"Well, I spoke to a ruggedly handsome officer of the law called Michael," Buffy began.

"And what did you find out?" Sam asked, rolling his eyes.

"That he enjoyed Dean's ass more than my tight, low cut shirt," Buffy laughed.

"And nothing about the case that we didn't already know, except that Meredith's heart was missing," Dean interrupted, ignoring Buffy and Sam's laugh.

"Her heart?" Sam asked, laughter fading.

"Her heart," Dean confirmed.

"So, do we have a theory yet?" Buffy asked.

"The landlady did say it looked like an animal did it. Werewolf?" Dean suggested.

"The lunar cycle's not right," Sam disagreed.

"If it were a creature, there would be some kind of trace, hair or something," Buffy added. "Spirit?"

Dean cocked his head and stared at the blood splatters on the carpet. "Do we have any tape?"

* * *

Buffy watched as Dean began to use the tape to make some kind of symbol. "Not to be a pain in the ass, but couldn't you make any shape by connecting the dots?"

Dean didn't answer her, but put the final piece of tape in place. "Does that symbol look familiar to either of you?"

Buffy cocked her head and looked at the floor. It looked like an incomplete figure 8 with a circle in the middle. "I don't think so, You?"

Sam shook his head. "Me either."

* * *

It was Dean's idea to go check out the place where the dead Meredith worked. He claimed it was to find clues, but Sam and Buffy knew better. They gave Dean a head start of half an hour while they searched everything they had for the unknown symbol.

Dean looked up at them as they entered and found a table. He joined them a few minutes later. "I talked to the bartender," was his opening remark.

"You get anything, besides her number?" Sam asked, taking out Dad's journal from his computer bag.

"Dude! I am a professional!" Dean protested.

"Picking up women is a professional sport?" Buffy asked in mock confusion.

Sam laughed. "You have no room to talk, Buffy. You're just as bad!"

"Hey!" Dean cried, holding up a napkin. "So I got her number. So what?"

"Why don't you do a little thinking with your upstairs brain, Dean?" Sam suggested. He sighed and picked through the newspaper clippings in the front of the journal.

"Look man, there's nothing here to find out." Dean said in exasperation. "She worked here, waiting tables. Everyone was her friend, said that she was normal. She didn't do or say anything that could be considered weird before she died. What about your end? Find anything about that symbol?"

"Nope, nothing. Dad's journal didn't have anything, and none of the usual books had any leads. We just have to go deeper," Buffy answered, disappointed.

"What about the first victim?" Dean asked.

"Yeah, a man by the name of Ben Swardstrom. Last month he was mutilated the same way as Meredith, doors and windows locked, alarm set, no sign of break-in," Sam confirmed.

"And no connection as of yet," Buffy added as an afterthought.

"So, to recap!" Dean began, a smirk crawling across his face. "The only successful intel we've collected is the bartender's phone number." Sam shook his head in frustration, only to catch sight of someone over Dean's shoulder. "What?"

Sam stood up and walked away. Buffy and Dean got up and followed him. He came to a stop behind a woman with short, cropped blonde hair. Sam reached over and tapped her on the shoulder. "Meg?"

The woman and her companion turned around and looked up at the three Winchesters.

"Sam?" Meg exclaimed standing up and giving Sam a hug, and letting all three get a better look at who she was talking to.

"Spike?" Buffy asked.

"Hello, luv," The man who spoke had platinum blonde hair that was gelled back and plastered to his head. He was dressed in black jeans, a black undershirt and a purple over shirt peaked out under his black duster. His clear blue eyes met her green ones and Buffy's head was flooded with memories.

* * *

_She was standing facing him, holding a fire axe in her hands. "Do we really need weapons for this?"_

"_I just like them. They make me feel all manly."_

_*Flash*_

"_Look at you, you poor, little lost lamb."_

_*Flash*_

"_Angel," she whispered._

"_Yeah, it bugs me to see him like that. Another five minutes, though, and Angel will be dead. . . so I forbear. Don't feel bad for Angel, though, he does have something that you don't."_

"_What's that?"_

"_Five minutes."_

_*Flash*_

"_You do remember you're a vampire, right?"_

"_We vampires like to talk big. 'I'm going to destroy the world.' It's just tough guy talk. Strutting around with your friends over a pint of blood. Truth is, I like this world. It has dog racing. Manchester United. And you've got people, billions of people walking around like Happy Meals on legs. But then someone comes around with a vision, a plan that might actually work. Angel could do it, and your precious little wold will come to an end."_

_*Flash*_

"_What a fantastic day. Birds singin', squirrels makin' lots of rotten little squirrels, the sun beaming down in a nice non-fatal way. It's very exciting. I can't wait to see if I freckle!"_

_*Flash*_

"_A bear! You made a bear!"_

"_I didn't mean to!"_

"_Undo it! Undo it!"_

_*Flash_

"_It's so sudden! I don't know what to say!"_

"_Say 'yes' and make me the happiest man alive."_

"_Oh, Spike! Of course it's yes!"_

_*Flash*_

"_Lesson the first: A Slayer must always reach for her weapon. I've already got mine."_

_*Flash*_

"_Death is on your heels, baby. And sooner or later, it's gonna catch you. And part of you wants it. Not only to stop the fear and uncertainty, but because you're just a little bit in love with it. Death is your art. You make it with your hands day after day. That final gasp, that look of peace. And part of you is desperate to know: What's it like? Where does it lead you? And now you see, that's the secret. Not the punch you didn't throw or the kicks you didn't land. She really wanted it. Every Slayer has a death wish. Even you."_

_*Flash*_

"_I can't listen to this! Spike is a monster, okay, and plus you're only fourteen years old!"_

"_I like hanging out with him, is all. Even if I did have a crush on him, it's not like he would notice, not with you around."_

"_What is that supposed to mean?"_

"_Spike's totally into you. You didn't notice? Buffy, Spike's completely in love with you."_

_*Flash*_

"_I love you."_

"_Oh my god!"_

"_You're all I think about, dream about. You're in my gut, my throat, I'm drowning in you, Summers, drowning."_

_*Flash_

"_Uh, wouldn't bother with the small stuff. Couple of good axes should keep Glory's mates away for a little while while you attack her."_

"_We're not all going to make it, you know that."_

"_Yeah. I always figured I'd go down fightin'."_

"_I'm counting on you, to protect Dawn."_

"_Till the end of the world, even if it happens to be tonight."_

"_I'll be a minute."_

"_Buffy. I know you'll never love me, I know I'm a monster, but you treat me like a man. . . and that's. . . get your stuff, I'll be here."_

* * *

"Buffy, you alright?" Dean asked, voice full of concern. She shook her head and blinked, turning her attention from Spike to him.

"I'm okay," she said, breathing deeply.

"Oh, my god, Sam! What are you doing here?" Meg asked, not noticing Buffy or Dean at all.

"I'm great, just visiting some friends," Sam said, pointing back to his table.

Meg followed his finger. "Where are they?"

"They're not here yet. What about you, Meg? I thought you were going to California."

Meg nodded, smiling. "I came, I saw, I conquered, and I met what's her name, something Michelle Geller."

"Who?" Sam asked, confused.

"It got boring, so I'm here for a little while," Meg sidestepped.

Dean cleared his throat, trying to get Sam's attention, but he was ignored. "Are you from Chicago?" Sam asked.

"No, Andover, Massachusetts," Meg corrected.

"Sam," Dean said.

Sam looked over and saw Buffy and looked a little green. "You alright."

"I think so," Buffy replied, looking back at Spike.

"Who are you?" Meg asked.

"Oh, sorry. This is my brother, Dean, and my sister, Buffy," Sam introduced.

"Oh, this is Dean?" Meg asked, surprised.

"You've heard of me?" Dean asked, puffing out his chest.

"You bet. I heard all about how you treat your brother like luggage!"

"Excuse me?" Buffy demanded.

"Why don't you let him do what he wants to? Let him off the leash a little?" Meg demanded.

Buffy and Dean exchanged confused looks. "I need a drink. . ." Dean muttered walking to the bar.

"Would you like to dance?" Spike asked, holding out a hand to Buffy.

"Sure," Buffy answered, taking his hand, but keeping her eyes on Sam as Spike walked her to the dance floor. When she looked back at Spike, he had a confused, but pleased look on his face.

* * *

He gently placed his hands on Buffy's hips." Why didn't you tell anyone you're back?" Spike asked as the song began.

"Who?" Buffy asked, wrapping her arms around Spike's neck, slipping her fingers under his leather duster.

"Red, the Welp or Niblet. Or even the Poofter. They've been lookin' for you for a while," Spike answered.

"I don't know who you're talking about. You're talking to me as if you know me. I feel as if I should know you, but I have no clue who you are," Buffy said.

"You recognized me, said my name," Spike pointed out.

Buffy stopped moving. "What's my name, Spike?"

"Are you off your bird?"

"Answer the question," Buffy demanded, crossing her arms.

"Buffy Summers, alright! That's your name. Why don't you know your name?" Spike asked, confused.

"Are you working for them?" Buffy asked, getting defensive.

"Who?"

"The people who appeared out of nowhere in California. There were four of them, and they all called me by that name."

"What is your name?" Spike asked slowly, as if he were putting together a puzzle in his head.

"Annabeth Winchester."

"Buffy!" Dean called, making his way over. "Time to go."

* * *

"Who the hell was she, Sam?" Dean demanded as they walked out to the car. All were to busy to notice that Dean's Impala wasn't the only classic car in the parking lot. A shiny, well maintained DeSoto sat in the parking space next to Dean's baby.

"I don't really know. I only met her once. Meeting up with her now? I don't know, man, it's weird."

"And was was she saying about me treating you like luggage? You bitching about me to some chick?"

"I'm sorry, Dean. It was after we had that really big fight in Indiana. But that's not the point, just listen. . ."

"Was any of that true?" Dean demanded. "Are we keeping you against your will?"

"No, of course not!" Sam denied. "Now will you listen?"

"What!"

"There's something strange going on here!" Sam insisted.

"You're telling me!" Dean shouted. "And you!" He rounded on Buffy. "Who was that Spike guy!"

Buffy shook her head. "I don't know, but he's important to me, for some reason."

"You don't know?" Dean asked, skeptically.

"Yeah! He's one of the people from my dreams, okay? But that doesn't mean I know why I know him!"

"Do you think he could have anything to do with what's going on here?" Sam asked. "Because none of this is a coincidence!"

Buffy's first instinct was to say 'no', but she stopped herself before she could say anything. Something was nagging at her and she couldn't figure out what it was, why Spike's presence here bothered her so much. "I'm not sure," she decided, after a pause.

"This whole thing bothers me. I meet Meg once on a random Indiana back road, then I meet up with her again at a random bar in Chicago bar, one where a girl, killed by something supernatural, worked? Something's not adding up," Sam insisted.

"Like what? Any ideas?" Buffy asked.

"Do me a favor, would you? Look into a Meg Masters from Andover, Massachusetts. See if anything unusual comes up, like that symbol," Sam asked.

"What are you doing to do?" Dean demanded.

"I'm going to watch Meg," Sam declared.

"You know, stalking's not usually a come on for girls," Buffy teased.

"He's thinking too much with his upstairs brain," Dean mock whispered to Buffy.

"I just want to see what's what," Sam said in his defense.

"All right, you little pervert," Dean smirked, getting into his car, ignoring Sam's reply.

* * *

"I swear, I can't look at these books any longer," Dean sighed. "It's not in here. You having any luck?"

Sam had left Buffy and Dean in the hotel room while he 'kept an eye' on Meg. Dean searched on Sam's laptop, while Buffy worked on her own.

"Have you ever heard of the Summers School for the Gifted?" Buffy asked, not looking up from her computer.

"Should I have?" Dean asked, wondering where she was going.

"Spike knew me as Buffy Summers, the same name the red head called be back in Jericho. Dawn, from Indiana, told her friend that she hadn't seen me in two years, and he responded by telling her to have patience, that I didn't know who she was yet. That's not how most people would react. So I looked up Buffy Summers."

"What did you find?" Dean asked, now not liking where this was going.

"She is known as the Head of the Slayer Line, for being the oldest living Slayer, despite the fact that she has been missing for almost three years. Look at the picture, Dean! She could be me!" Buffy insisted.

Dean got up and looked at the picture Buffy was freaking out about. "You know this isn't you. It can't be. This is that freshman cheerleader that burned down Hemery High's gym a month before we left LA."

"These people finding me three times in a year isn't a coincidence, Dean! I've been having dreams about these people for the better part of three years!" Buffy pointed to the people listed on the staff page. Dean recognized Dawn and Xander from the diner in Indiana an Spike from earlier that night. "Willow must've done something, and now she's trying to correct it because whatever she did she messed up! Giles is probably trying to fix it, and . . . ."

"Buffy,"

"You and Sam aren't really my family. Mom's dead, Dad's in Spain, Dawn. . . god! Where's Dawn? Spike's supposed to be taking care of her, what's he doing here?" Buffy started hyperventilating.

"Buffy!"

"What if all this isn't real? What's happening to me?"

"Annabeth!" Dean shouted, grabbing Buffy's arms and gently, but firmly, shaking her. "Calm down. No matter what's going on, you are my sister, and that's all that matters. Not whatever you're trying to convince yourself. Sam and I aren't going anywhere. I promise you!"

It was as if a switch was flipped in Buffy's head. She blinked and relaxed. "Of course you're not going anywhere, why would you?" She closed the web page without another look. "Let's try to find out what's being summoned, shall we?"

Dean stood there, confused. Buffy was acting like she didn't know what had just happened, and he knew that that was unusual, even for her. He shook his head and pulled out his phone. He wasn't going to read another book, if he had any say in it. "Hey, Caleb. I got a question for you."

* * *

Caleb called back two hours with the first real piece of information they had gained that night. "It's a demon called a Daeva. The sigil's Zoroastrian, very old school, like two thousand years before Christ."

"Demon of Darkness," Buffy said. "Kinda like demonic pit bulls."

"How did you know that?" Dean asked.

"Training. They have to be summoned, and they're not easy to control. Tend to bite the hand that fed them, among other things," Buffy answered.

"Since you know so much, what do they look like?" Dean asked.

"How would I know? They haven't back on Earth for two thousand years!" Buffy repeated.

* * *

Sam was sitting in the Impala, looking into Meg's apartment. Dean had updated him on the situation a few minutes ago by phone. Buffy was beginning to act strange and know things she shouldn't. He wasn't sure what to think.

Meg was getting dressed after a shower, fastening on a bra, followed by a black shirt. She left the window and a few minutes later walked out the front door. Sam quickly ducked so he was lying flat on the front seat of the Impala, not daring to look up until he was sure she was gone.

Sam got out of the car and followed Meg, keeping a block between them, to not let her know he was following her. Ten minutes later he saw her duck into a warehouse. He was on his way in when he saw the car parked in front. It was a beautifully maintained black DeSoto. It looked familiar, but Sam couldn't place it.

He walked into the abandoned warehouse and looked around. The place looked empty, but there was a slight creaking from upstairs, followed by the flicker of the lighting that indicated a candle was the primary source of light. Sam found a elevator and discovered that the shaft was empty. He began to climb up the shaft, holding onto the bars in the wall.

* * *

After a twenty minute hike,made longer because he was trying not to alert Meg to his presence, he reached the top. Meg and Buffy's friend Spike were standing in front of an alter. Spike looked board. "This isn't going to work. The Slayer's defeated everything that has gone after her and her family, including Glory," Spike said, flicking his lighter and lighting a cigarette.

"This isn't about the Slayer, though she's supposed to be dead," Meg answered. "Shut up. I have to make a call."

Meg stepped closer to the alter, picking up a bowl. She dipped her finger into the blood that was inside and started muttering to it. Spike rolled his eyes and pushed off the table. He looked to the back of the warehouse and his eyes met Sam's.

Sam inhaled sharply in surprise, expecting Spike to expose him, but to his surprise, Spike didn't act as if he saw him. He turned his attention back to Meg. "So, what's Daddy dearest say?"

"Continue, regardless. Let's go."

* * *

Spike nodded his head and tossed his half smoked cigarette on the floor. As he stepped on it, he tilted his head to the alter in an unobtrusive way to the table. Sam watched the two leave and carefully pulled himself out of the elevator shaft and onto the floor. He pushed himself up and carefully made his way to the alter.

The missing hearts from the two victims were sitting on the table, as well as several bowls of blood and other ancient items. The symbol that was on the floor of Meredith's apartment was drawn in blood between two of the bowls.

"What the hell?" Sam asked in confusion.

* * *

Sam burst into the motel room, causing Buffy and Dean to turn around. "Dude, I got to talk to you!" Sam and Dean exclaimed.

An hour later all three were caught up with each other. "So, hot little Meg's summoning the Daevas? Sammy's got something for the bad girls! And Buffy's little friend was there too? What's with the bowls again?"

Buffy and Sam rolled their eyes. "She was talking into it, the way witches scry into a crystal ball. She was communicating with something."

"They don't actually use a crystal ball," Buffy corrected. "They use water."

Dean and Sam exchanged looks, and decided to ignore Buffy's statement. "Who was she communicating with? The Daevas?" Dean asked.

"I don't think so. Whoever it was is giving her orders. You said those things were savages. Someone's coming to that warehouse."

"Oh god," Dean exclaimed as he sat down.

"What?" Sam asked.

"I got a call from my 'friend', Michael, at the police department. He gave me the complete records of the people who died. We missed something the first time," Dean answered.

"Like what?" Sam asked, taking the folders Buffy handed him.

"The first victim, the old man. He spent his entire life in Chicago, but he wasn't born here. Look," Buffy said, gesturing to the folder.

"Lawrence, Kansas," Sam read. "Holy shit."

"It gets better. The second victim, Meredith, was adopted. Three guesses where she was from," Dean said, linking his fingers behind his head and swinging his legs onto the table next to the computer.

"Lawrence," Buffy answered.

"Holy shit," Sam repeated. "Lawrence is where the Demon killed Mom. What's the significance of that town? And how do the Daevas fit in?

Buffy shrugged. "I don't know, but I think we should destroy the alter, grab Meg, and have ourselves a little interrogation."

"What about Spike? Sam saw him there," Dean asked.

"Spike's not a part of the demon thing, unless he was forced into it. He's got other things to worry about," Buffy said confidently. "He's on our side with this, trust me."

"We don't want to tip her off, and nabbing Spike would do that," Sam said. "We've got to get in that warehouse and see who is showing up to meet her."

"I'll tell you one thing. I don't want to go into this one alone," Dean said.

* * *

Dean called Dad while Buffy and Sam ransacked the Impala for everything they could think of to use against Meg. "I'm worried about you," Sam said, stuffing things into the duffle bag under his arm. "Are you sure you're doing alright? Dean told me about your freak out earlier."

When he glanced at his sister, he didn't see the calming presence that had been there his whole life. He saw someone who was terrified, and trying to convince themselves that everything's going to be fine. Buffy was pale and she was shaking badly, though trying extremely hard not to show it.

"I don't know what's going on," Buffy admitted, "but I do know that somehow, Spike and Meg are involved with it, as well as those people who keep following me. I want to know what it is, so I can find some why to deal with it."

"Alright, fair enough," Sam conceded. "Whatever you're going through, Dean and I will be with you through it all."

"I don't know if I want you there," Buffy admitted. "I don't know if I want to be there. If I find answers, I'm not sure I'm going to like what I've become."

* * *

"You get everything?" Dean asked as Sam and Buffy walked back into the room, a bag each over their shoulder.

"We got every useful thing out of that rust bucket we could," Buffy said, throwing her bag on the nearest bed.

"Bite your tongue, heathen!" Dean rebuked her, catching the unloaded gun and the bullets that Sam tossed to him.

"I got every weapon we could think of and books from a half dozen religions, filled with exorcism rituals. I'm not sure what we're up against, so I prepared for everything," Sam said, loading a shotgun of his own.

"Big night," Dean commented.

"Yeah," Sam sighed. "You nervous?"

"Should we be?" Buffy asked.

"I guess not," Sam shrugged. "God, can you imagine what would happen if we actually found the demon?"

"Don't count your chickens before they hatch, Sam," Dean warned.

"Yeah, I know. But what if we did?" Sam asked. "Man, I'd sleep for a month, go back to school, become a person again."

"You want to go back to school?" Buffy asked in a small voice.

"Yeah, once we're done hunting this thing and we've found out what's wrong with you, Buffy," Sam confirmed.

"Huh," Dean sighed. "Great, good for you."

"What's wrong with going back to college?" Sam demanded. "What are you going to do when it's all over?"

"There's nothing wrong with school," Buffy said, "but the hunt is never going to be over. There's always going to be some creepy bastard that wants to ruin someone's life for some reason. I went to college and . . ."

"No, you didn't," Dean corrected.

"No, I didn't," Buffy agreed, shaking her head.

"There's got to be something you both want for yourselves!" Sam insisted, skating over the awkward moment.

"I don't want you to leave the moment this thing is over!" Dean shouted turing to face the wall.

"What is your problem?" Sam asked, confused.

Dean sighed, then turned back to Sam, throwing his arms in the air. "Why do you think we drag you everywhere? Why do you think I went and got you at Stanford in the first place?" Dean demanded.

"Dad and Buffy were in trouble. You wanted help in finding the thing that killed Mom," Sam answered.

"That's part of it, Sammy boy," Buffy said.

"But there's more! You, Dad, Buffy and me. . . I just want us to be together again. I want to be a family again!"

"We _are_ a family, Dean. I'd do anything for the three of you, but things are never going to be the same again."

"They could be," Dean said, petulantly.

"I don't want them to be," Sam answered. "I don't want to live my life like this. When this is all over, you're going to have to let me life my own life." He turned to repack the bag.

Buffy pulled Dean into a tight hug. "I'm not going anywhere if I can hep it."

* * *

Sam led them to the warehouse fifteen minutes later. "I saw a ladder on the outside that went up. You two take the elevator shaft and I'll take the ladder," Buffy whispered, and was off before either of the boys could stop her.

Buffy had seen Spike's car outside of the building and thought he might be lurking on the ground level in hopes of running into her. She wasn't surprised when someone grabbed her as soon as her brothers were out of sight.

"Slayer, you've got to be more careful," Spike's British tones whispered in her ear.

"I'm better off than you think I am,' Buffy retorted, pulling out of Spike's grip as she spun around. She pulled a stake out from her waistband and held it out.

"Very good, pet, but that's not the issue here. You and yours are walking into a trap," Spike warned.

"What are you doing here, Spike?" Buffy asked, crossing her arms.

"I was sent by the Niblet to see what happened to the Slayer stationed here. We lost contact a month ago. Turns out she was victim to your demon friend. Got her to brag to me about getting the Winchesters, so I decided to stay and see what would happen. Imagine my surprise when I find out that you're pretending to be one of them."

"I'm not pretending anything. As Dean reminded me, we went to school with Buffy Summers. She was two years behind us," Buffy said. "You need to leave. Go report in and tell them to leave me alone."

"As you wish," Spike replied, lighting a cigarette. He blew a plume of smoke in her face then spun around, leaving the room in a sprint.

Buffy watched him go, then began to pull herself up the ladder, hoping the entire time that it wouldn't break on her.

* * *

"So where's your little Daeva friend?" Dean asked, trying to keep Meg busy until Buffy arrived. What was keeping her?

"Around," Meg answered, smiling broadly. "You know, that shotgun's not going to do much good."

"Don't worry. The gun's not for the demon," Dean assured her.

"So, who is it, Meg? Who's meeting you here?" Sam demanded. "Who are you waiting for?"

"You," Meg answered laughing. "and your sister, once she's done talking to that pathetic excuse for a vampire."

A shadow was quickly creeping up the wall toward Sam but he was saved the full attack when Buffy punched it away. She was able to fend off a few blows before the Daeva got the upper hand. She felt talons dig into her flesh then she remembered no more.

"Buffy, you alright?" Dean asked. It was the first thing Buffy heard. Groaning, she looked around. She, Dean, and Sam were tied up to wooden pillars, with Dean in the middle. Each of the boys had blood running down their faces, and Sam was still out of it.

"I think so," she groaned.

Sam started moaning shortly after she gained conscience. He blinked owlishly at the smiling Meg, who was sitting a few yards away. "Don't take this the wrong way, Sam, but your girlfriend, she's a bitch." The taunt didn't change the look on Meg's face.

"This whole thing's a trap," Buffy said.

"Running into you at the bar, following you here, overhearing you. It was all a set up, wasn't it?" Sam accused. Meg laughed. "And the victims from Lawrence?"

"All to draw you in," Meg answered. "Though I didn't expect the Council to show up, even if it was in the form of a pathetic vampire."

"You killed those two people for nothing!" Sam accused.

"Baby, I've killed a lot more for a lot less," Meg said.

"You've got us here, it's Miller time. So why aren't you killing us?" Dean asked.

"You're slow on the uptake, aren't you?" Meg asked rhetorically. "This trap isn't for you."

"It's for Dad," Buffy finished.

"Oh, sweetheart, you're dumber than you look. If Dad was in town, he wouldn't walk into something like this. He's too good," Dean smirked.

"He is very good," Meg agreed. "But like any living thing, he's got a weakness, and his just happens to be the three of you. I happen to know that he's in town, and he'll come to save the three of you. And the Daevas will kill everyone, nice and messy."

"It's going to take more than a shadow to kill Dad," Dean taunted.

"The Daevas are here in the room, invisible. Their shadows are the only part of them you can see," Meg corrected.

"Why are you doing this Meg?" Sam asked.

Buffy didn't hear her reply. She knew that Dean and Sam would keep Meg's attention away from her, as usual, so she could get free. People always underestimated her because she was female, but more often than not it was to her advantage.

"What kind of deal do you have going on here? And with who?" Sam continued.

"I'm doing this for the same reasons you do, for loyalty," Meg answered, walking over to Sam and sitting on his lap.

Buffy watched, keeping an ear on what Meg was saying to her brothers, but concentrating on the knife in her back pocket. If she could reach it and start on the ropes, she could get through fast enough to prevent Meg from raping Sam, something she was getting close to doing.

"Go to hell!" Sam hissed, leaning as far away from Meg as the wooden beam and ropes let him.

"Baby, I'm already there!" Meg whispered, leaning in to kiss Sam's neck.

"Get a room!" Dean muttered as Meg began to talk dirty to Sam, biting his ear and sucking on his neck.

Buffy tugged on her ropes and determined that she had cut through enough. She purposely dropped the knife, which caught Meg's attention. "Sorry, I forgot you were here," Meg taunted, pushing away from Sam and settling herself on Buffy's lap. She leaned forward to see behind Buffy and spotted the knife. "What were you planning on accomplishing?"

"Getting your filthy hands off of my brother," Buffy hissed, pulling the rope apart and punching Meg in the face. Jumping to her feet, Buffy blocked the series of punches Meg swung at her, before kicking her in the stomach.

Sam and Dean managed to cut free by then and Sam ran to the alter. "NO!" Meg shouted as Sam toppled the alter with a great deal of force. An invisible force attacked, dragging Meg out of the window at the other end of the floor, causing her to fall several stories. The Winchesters walked to the window and saw Meg lying on the ground.

"I guess the Daevas don't like being bossed around," Dean observed.

"I guess not," Buffy agreed.

"Hey, Sam?" Dean called.

"Yeah?"

"The next time you want to get laid, try to pick someone who's not buckets of crazy, okay?"

"Why didn't you leave that stuff in the car?" Buffy asked as the three of them approached their motel room.

"I've said it once and I'll say it again, it's better to be safe than sorry. We don't know where the Daevas went," Sam answered exasperatedly.

* * *

Dean walked around Sam and opened the door. As soon as he walked in, he noticed a figure in front of the window. "Hey!" The figure turned around and stepped into the light. "Dad?"

"Hey, boys," Dad said, smiling. Dean rushed forward and pulled Dad into a tight hug, trying to pour all his fear, relief, and worry into it. "Hey, Sam. Buffy."

"Hi, Dad," Sam said softly. After spending the better part of a year looking for the man in front of him, Sam was suddenly apprehensive. They had parted on bad terms. Did Dad even want to see him.

"I've missed you Dad," Buffy said, taking her hug after putting her duffle bag on the floor.

"It was a trap, I didn't know," Dean reported. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be, I figured it was," Dad brushed off.

"Were you there?" Buffy asked.

"I got there just in time to see the girl take the swan dive. She was the bad guy, right?" Dad asked.

"Yes, sir," all three children confirmed.

"Good," Dad said. "It's tried to stop me before."

"The demon?" Sam asked.

"It knows I'm close, knows I'm going to kill it. Not banish or exorcise it, actually kill it."

"How?" Dean asked.

"I'm working on it," Dad smiled.

"Let us come with you! Let us help!" Sam insisted, ignoring Dean's warning look.

"No, Sam. Not yet. Just try to understand. This demon's a scary son of a bitch. I don't want any of my children caught in the crossfire, I don't want you hurt," Dad insisted.

"Dad, you don't have to worry about us!" Sam said.

"Yes, he does. We're his children," Buffy said softly.

"Sammy, the last time we saw each other, we had one hell of a fight," Dad said.

"Yes, sir," Sam agreed.

"It's good to see you, son." Dad pulled Sam into a tight hug that Sam returned after a beat. "It's been a long time."

"Too long," Sam agreed.

Then chaos erupted. Dad was flung into the kitchen cabinets across the room. "No!" Dean shouted, before he was attacked himself. Buffy was able to block a few hits, but was quickly overpowered by the Daeva. Sam was beaten back but was able to get to his duffle.

"These things are shadow demons, so let's light them up!" Sam shouted, pulling out a flare and lighting it.

The motel room was suddenly filled with light. Dean helped Dad out and Buffy snagged Sam on her way out of the room.

* * *

Fifteen minutes all four were patched up and standing by the Impala. "We don't have much more time. As soon as that flare's out, they'll be back," Sam warned, trying to get Dad to get into the Impala.

"Sam, wait!" Dean said. "Dad, you can't come with us."

"What? Why?" Sam demanded.

"You boys are beat to hell," Dad pleaded.

"We'll be alright," Dean assured him.

"Dean, we should stick together!" Sam implored. "We'll go after those demons. . ."

"Sam! We almost got Dad killed in there! They're not going to stop! They're going to try again, use us to get to Dad. Dad's vulnerable when we're around. He's better off without us," Dean shouted.

"Dad, no!" Sam begged. "After everything, after all the time we spent looking for you, please! I've got to be a part of this fight!"

"And you will be," Buffy assured him. "Just not right now."

"This fight's just beginning," Dad agreed. "And we're all going to have a part to play. For now, you're just going to have to trust me. You've got to let me go." Dad gave each of them one last hug before walking over to his truck. "Take care, boys."

The three of them watched as Dad got in and drove away. They exchanged looks then piled into the car, Buffy and Dean in the front. Dean backed out of the ally and drove off into the night.

* * *

"She said what?" Dawn asked.

"She wants to be left alone," Spike repeated.

"We can't do that," Giles said shaking her head. "It's getting close to the time of the prophecy. We need our leader. The time for waiting is over.

"What do you suggest?" Faith demanded.

"We create a spell for her memories to unlock when she sees someone from her past, you," Giles said. "When she sees you, she will remember everything as Buffy Summers."

"I can't believe you! She's been doin' jus' fine on her own, and now you want to control her again?" Spike shouted. "And you lot call her your friend!"

"She needs to knew who she was so she can take her place as head of the Slayer Line!" Willow insisted.

"From what I've heard, it was you that made her be the way she is now. She's happy let her be!" Spike insisted.

"We can't," Giles said, with a note of finality. As he turned his back to everyone, his eyes went black.


	11. Dead Man's Blood

Dead Man's Blood

* * *

"I don't feel right about doing this," Faith said, sitting in the center of the circle Willow drew in the middle of the room.

"We're out of time. We've got to do something," Willow answered.

"Don't you think we've messed with her mind too much already?" Faith asked.

"Then she'll be used to it," Willow replied. "Giles will be here in a few minutes. Try to clear your mind, focusing on the phrase we told you would be the trigger."

Faith sighed and closed her eyes. "I don't want to do this. We didn't exactly part on good terms."

"You're the only Slayer we've got that she knows. Now shut up."

Faith bristled at the rebuke but did what she was told. Willow and Giles, who had entered as she argued with Willow, began chanting in some archaic language. Faith could feel the trigger, as well as all Buffy Summers had been, enter her. As soon as someone spoke the right phrase to Buffy in her presence, Buffy would receive everything Willow was putting into Faith.

From both Spike's and Dawn's reports, Buffy had been happy and slowly remembering everything on her own. Faith saw this as unnecessary, but Azazel was scheduled to come out of hiding soon. According to Giles, Buffy was needed to hunt and kill the bastard.

Willow and Giles's chanting got louder and Faith gave into the pain. Throwing her head back, Faith let out a blood curling scream. She whas blind to the other two in the room with her. Willow and Giles watched, black eyes glinting in the darkness.

* * *

Spike was waiting at the door when Faith was ejected out of the room. "You want to help Buffy, right?"

"Yeah, but this wasn't my idea," Faith groaned.

"I know, I heard. Does Dawn know?"

"I don't know. As far as I know, it's just the four of us."

"Not even the Whelp?" Spike asked, lighting a cigarette.

"I'm sure he doesn't know. He was the first to object to Red bringing B back to life in the first place. After that fuck up, he's gotten more cautious," Faith guessed.

"I know what they're after," Spike said.

"Which who?"

"The Winchesters. Didn't you notice that no one bothered to look into their family history?" Spike asked. "Buffy's an extra two years older than she should be. Annabeth Winchester went to school with Buffy Summers. The Winchesters became nomads a few months after the mother burned up in a fire on her younger brother's six month birthday. If I could find this out, why couldn't the Scoobies?"

"I don't know, but there's something more going on here. The prophecy doesn't give a timetable, so why do they think time's running out?" Faith asked.

"They have been acting strange lately, kinda like. . . oh bugger."

"What?"

"I think they're possessed."

"By what?"

"Demons, and they're the ones running out of time. Azazel is stepping up the game, and he needs the Slayer out of the picture. Now she's remembering slowly enough for it not to interfere with her life. Throw everything on her at once and who knows what she's going to do as she tries to assimilate the information."

"How long do you think they've been possessed? And how to we check?" Faith asked.

"I'm not sure, but I'd bet not long before you all began your search for Buffy, or right before," Spike guessed.

"So, about all year," Faith surmised.

"What's the trigger word, so we can avoid it?"

"Vampire Slayer."

* * *

Buffy was sitting in a restaurant with Dean and Sam. Sam was sulking over his coffee and Dean was looking for cases in the newspaper. "Alright, there's not a case in all of Nebraska. What do you have, Buffy?"

"Nothing worth looking into, at least not around here," she answered, sipping her coffee.

"We could head east, back to New York, and Sammy can meet up again with Sarah. What do you think?" Dean grinned at Sam "She's a pretty cool chick, smokin' hot, right? You two seemed pretty friendly. What do you say?"

Sarah was the daughter of a man who ran an art auction house in upstate New York Last week they had helped her get rid of a haunted painting, where the spirit of the girl who was in the portrait was killing people.

It was one of the calmer cases. The Texas case at the beginning of the month was worse, combining people's misunderstanding of cult symbols, the internet, and two stupid ghost hunters that didn't know what they were doing. Harry and Ed were convinced that they were real paranormal investigators, and had, in fact, made the job worse when they posted the story of Mordechai Murdoch online. The tulpa gained power and had been very hard to get rid of, until Buffy blew up the abandoned house that he supposedly lived in.

"I donno, maybe some other time," Sam brushed off.

"Does the name Daniel Elkins mean anything to either of you?" Buffy asked.

"Rings a bell. Why?" Dean asked.

"A man in Colorado by that name was found mauled in his home," Buffy read, before turning the computer to Dean so he could read it. Dean glanced through the article before turning the computer to Sam.

"Sounds like the police don't know what to think. First they said bear attack, now they think it's robbery?" Sam asked.

"Hmm, Elkins, Elkins," Dean muttered, flipping through the pages of Dad's journal. "Here, look at this." He turned the book around so both Buffy and Sam could read it.

"You think that's the same person?" Buffy asked.

"It's a Colorado area code," Dean reasoned. "It's a shot."

* * *

"You think that Buffy and her family's after this gun?" Faith asked. She and Spike were sitting in Spike's DeSoto, on their way to Colorado, Dawn in the back seat.

"I'm almost sure of it," Spike confirmed.

"Why a gun?" Dawn asked. "Guns can't kill anything."

"That's generally true," Spike confirmed, "but there are exceptions to every rule."

"You gonna tell us, big guy?" Faith asked.

"I'm more worried about being able to get that gun. It's been off the grid for ages, no one knew where it ended up, until it resurfaced a few years ago," Spike started to explain.

"A few like five, or a few like fifty?" Dawn asked, knowing that Spike's sense of time was a little off.

"More like the second one," Spike said. "No one knows how Elkins got the Colt, but somehow. . ."

"The Colt, as in Samuel Colt?" Dawn asked.

"Yeah. You've heard of the Colt?" Spike asked.

"I thought it was a legend. Rumor has it that that gun can kill anything. I found out about it shortly after Buffy. . . died," Dawn admitted. "Do we know why Buffy wants it?"

"Not yet," Spike admitted, "but I'm willing to guess that something hurt them, and they want revenge."

* * *

It was the middle of the night by the time the Winchester siblings reached Manning, Colorado, and Daniel Elkins' house. The house was a mess. Every bit of furniture that was in the room was on its side. Papers, pictures and clutter were everywhere.

Dean entered first and carefully made his way into the house. "Looks like the maid didn't come today!"

"Hey, there's salt here by the door!" Sam called.

"Like protection against demon salt, or 'opps, I spilled the popcorn' salt?" Dean called.

"It's a ring," Buffy reported. "You think Elkins was a player?"

"I'd say so. He's got a hunting journal that goes back to the sixties," Dean said holding up the book he was flipping through.

Buffy led the way further into the cabin. "Looks like whatever attacked him had friends," Sam said, pointing with his flashlight to the busted skylight.

"And they put up one hell of a fight," Buffy agreed, looking around. "What's that by your foot?"

Dean looked down and saw a long, narrow box. "A gun case, but whatever was in it is long gone." He cocked his head and knelt on the floor taking a closer look at something.

"Find something?" Sam asked, joining Buffy and Dean on the floor.

"Maybe. Scratching in the floor." Dean found paper and pencil on the floor and made a rubbing of the scratches.

"Death throws?" Sam guessed.

"Or maybe a message," Dean said, holding the rubbing up. "Look familiar?"

"Three letters and six digits? It's a mail drop," Buffy concluded. "Just the way Dad does it."

* * *

"When are you planning on talking to her?" Dawn asked, watching Buffy and her brothers leave the house.

"We have to be careful. Vamps did this, and that involves Buffy's trigger word," Spike whispered. "We've got to be careful, but I've got a plan."

"What is it?" Faith asked.

"We find the vamps first, and do what we do best."

* * *

Sam watched as Buffy and Dean entered the post office and retrieved a letter. When they got back in the car, Dean passed the letter around. "J.W. John Winchester?" Sam asked.

"I think so," Buffy said.

"Should we open it?" Dean asked, but was deprived an answer when someone rapped on the window. "Dad?"

Dad opened the back seat of the car and got in, Buffy sliding over to make room.

"Dad, what are you doing here? You okay?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine, Sammy. I heard about Daniel. I got here as fast as I could, in time to see you three at his place."

"Why didn't you say anything?" Sam demanded.

"You know why!" Dad insisted. "I had to make sure you weren't followed. You did a pretty good job covering your tracks, by the way."

"We learned from the best," Buffy said softly.

"How come we never heard of this Elkins guy?" Sam asked. "Why didn't you mention him to us?"

"We had kind of a falling out," Dad admitted. "He was the one who started me in hunting. Where's his letter?" Buffy silently handed it to him and read over his shoulder. "Son of a bitch! He had it the whole time!"

"Had what?" Sam and Buffy asked at the same time.

"When you searched the place, did you see an antique Colt revolver?" Dad asked.

"There was an empty case, but no gun," Dean said.

"They have it," Dad muttered.

"You mean whatever killed Elkins?" Dean asked as Dad got out of the Impala and bent over to speak through the window.

"We've got to pick up their trail," Dad said.

"You want our help?" Buffy asked with skepticism. "After Chicago?"

"Dad, we don't even know what we're up against," Sam pointed out.

"They were what Daniel Elkins fought best. Vampires."

* * *

Spike, Faith and Dawn were heading into town when Faith cried out, "Stop!" Spike slammed on the breaks, barely avoiding the person who had collapsed in the middle of the road. Faith jumped out of the car and over to the prone figure. "Oh man, did you choose the wrong car to stop!"

The vampire opened his eyes and let his face change, taking on the ridged face of the demon within. The second set of teeth descended and the vampire hissed at her. Faith crossed her arms, unimpressed. "You're gonna have to do better than that," she said rolling her eyes.

Spike got out of the car and walked to Faith's side. "These two are mine," he growled, his own demonic mask exposed, golden eyes burning holes in the vampire on the ground.

"Not if we take them from you," the vampire on the ground taunted. Nine more melted out of the darkness.

Faith and Spike stood in a fighting stance and let the coven attack. What they weren't counting on was one of the vampires going after Dawn. Three of the vampires were staked before Faith was forced to surrender and the coven beat Spike to a pulp.

* * *

Dad led them to an abandoned cabin on the outskirts of Manning to use as a base for the hunt. Sam, Dean, and Buffy dragged their things into the cabin then Dad sat them down and started filling them in.

"Most vampire lore is crap. A cross won't repel them, sunlight won't kill them. A stake through the heart only works under certain circumstances, depending on the wood the stake's made of and who's wielding it. But the stories got the bloodlust part right. They need fresh human blood to survive. They were once human, so you won't know it's a vampire until it's too late," Dad explained. "It's been a long night. Get some rest."

* * *

They didn't sleep for very long, getting five hours. "Dean, Sam, Buffy, wake up. Time to go," Dad ordered.

Buffy and Dean groaned, stretching.

"What happened?" Sam asked.

"A young girl called 911, reporting a robbery. Police got there and found an abandoned car, people were missing. It's the vampires," Dad answered opening the door.

"How do you know?" Sam asked, sitting up.

"Just follow me on this, okay?" Dad asked, exasperated.

* * *

An hour later, the four of them were standing ten yards from the scene of the disappearances. "Stay here, don't move," Dad ordered, making his way over to where the cops were mulling around, looking for clues.

"Dean, that car look familiar to you?" Buffy asked. Dean followed her gaze and saw the cherry black DeSoto in the middle of all the police attention. "He's here, he didn't leave."

"Who?" Sam asked.

"Spike," Dean answered, recognizing the car. "Though I don't know why he would be here."

Buffy didn't pay any attention to Dean or Sam, instead walking to the left of Spike's precious car, heading into the woods. She didn't have to go very far once she stepped into the forest. There was a very clear path to follow and within a few minutes she found him, half under a fallen log, covered in blood.

"I've got you, Spike," she whispered, taking off her leather jacket and draping it over the tree branches above his head.

The sudden darkness caused Spike to look up at her. "Buffy?" he moaned.

"Yeah, Spike?" Buffy whispered, stroking his forehead.

"You're here. . . Faith, Dawn taken. . . . Vamps did it," Spike said, haltingly.

"I need to get you help," Buffy muttered. "Can you stand?"

"I think so," Spike replied, slowing pulling himself up. Slowly, the two of them made their way back to the Impala. "No, my car," Spike protested.

"Dawn managed to call 911. Cops are crawling all over your car," Buffy warned.

"I need my car. Has my blood," Spike insisted, as the two of them broke the tree line and walked out onto the high way.

Buffy nodded and helped Spike to his car, neatly avoiding the cops, since all their attention was on Spike. "Our address is in your pocket, as well as my phone number. Stop by after you've recovered."

Spike nodded and dove into the cooler behind the driver's seat. Buffy turned and walked back, not noticing that she was walking beside her father until he spoke. "I thought I told you not to move."

"I knew him, I couldn't not help," Buffy defended herself.

"He tell you anything?" Dad asked.

"He confirmed that vamps were responsible, and that they took two people," Buffy answered.

"Anything?" Sam demanded.

"It was them, alright. Looks like their heading west, we're gonna have to double back to get around this detour," Dad answered.

"How can you be so sure?" Sam demanded.

Buffy rolled her eyes. Sam hadn't been this confrontational with Dad since the month before he left for school, when he knew he was getting out. The petty fighting was only going to get worse. "Spike was in the woods. He confirmed it was vamps," Buffy answered.

"How do we know we're going in the right direction?" Sam asked.

Dad rolled his eyes and sighed, but took something from his pocket and held it out. "I found this."

"What is it?" Dean asked, picking it up to get a closer look.

"It's a vampire's tooth," Buffy answered, without looking at it. "A second set of teeth descend when a vamp feeds on a live person."

"Let's go," Dad ordered, walking to his truck. "Hey, Dean, why don't you touch up your car a bit before you get rust? I wouldn't have given her to you if you weren't going to take care of her!" Dean stared at his father, offended.

* * *

Sam was driving, following Dad and scowling the whole time. Dean was sitting next to him, reading out of a book Dad had told them to read. "Vampires usually nest in groups from eight to ten. Smaller packs are sent out to hunt. Victims are taken to the nest where the coven keeps them alive, bleeding them from anywhere from days to weeks. You think that's what happened to Spike's friends?"

"That probably what Dad thinks, though it would be better of Dad told us!" Sam huffed.

"So, it _is_ starting!" Dean sighed.

"What?" Sam asked.

"We've been looking for Dad for the better part of a year, now we're not with him for more than a few hours and you're at each other's throats already," Buffy explained.

"No," Sam denied. "Look, I'm happy he's fine, okay? And I'm happy that we're all hunting again."

"Good," Dean huffed.

"But it's the way he treats us like we're children!"

"Oh god." Dean groaned.

"He barks orders, Dean! He expects us to follow him blindly and keeps us on some shitty need-to-know deal." Sam continued.

"He does what he does for a reason," Dean countered.

"What reason!" Sam demanded.

"Our job!" Dean shouted. "There's no time to argue, no margin for error, alright? Buffy, back me up!"

"Dad is doing the best he knows with what he has," Buffy said. "If that means letting us know something a specific time, then so be it."

"That might've worked when we were kids, but not anymore!" Sam pointed out. "Haven't we been through enough? I mean are both of you telling me that you're cool with sitting back and letting him run the show?"

"If that's what it takes," Dean answered, after a slight pause. Buffy didn't answer.

* * *

Kate wasn't sure what was different with the humans that were brought in last night, but there was something highly unusual about them. Both women were unafraid of them. Every other human the coven brought to to their lair were begging for their lives by now.

The younger girl observed the coven going about their business like she was used to living with vampires. Nothing any of them did phased her, but she did keep her neck covered, not letting anyone near it.

The older girl was actively bantering with some of the coven, trying to persuade a few of the boys to untie her so they could have some 'fun'. There was something about the older girl that caused Kate's blood to curdle in fear, but she didn't know what it was. She smelled spicy, like cinnamon and red peppers.

The odd thing was that no one, not any of the fifteen vampires in her coven, had any desire to bite the two of them. It would be encroaching on another's property, and no one wanted to enrage William the Bloody or Angelus. Even through neither had been active for a few years, they each had fierce reputations, and they already were tempting fate by taking them forcibly from that car in the first place.

For now, the two would be safe. Kate and Luther would have to hope that the vampire the women were taken from didn't let William or Angelus know what happened.

* * *

Buffy was in the passenger's seat this time, having switched with Dean. "Yeah, okay. Got it." she flipped her phone closed. "Take the next exit."

"Why?" Sam asked, barely keeping his temper in check.

"Because Dad thinks he's got the vamp's trail," Buffy answered. "And before you ask, I didn't ask how he knew."

Sam inhaled deeply before he slammed his foot on the gas pedal and passed Dad's truck before turning the car across both lanes, causing Dad to stop. Sam jumped out of the car and stormed over to Dad, face red and breathing fast.

"Oh, shit," Buffy exclaimed.

"Sam! Get back here!" Dean shouted, as both he and Buffy got out of the Impala, intending on stopping the inevitable confrontation.

"What the fuck was that?" Dad demanded, slamming the door to his truck as he got out and stormed up to Sam.

"We need to talk," Sam demanded, nostrils flaring as he continued to breathe harshly.

"About what?" Dad demanded.

"How about everything? Anything?" Sam shouted, shrugging. "What's the deal with this gun? Where are we going?"

Dad and Sam were about a foot apart, each glaring holes in the other, neither willing to back down. Dean and Buffy glanced at each other, wondering if this was the time when they would have to choose a side, their dad or their brother.

"Sammy, come on. We can Q&A after we're done with the vampires," Buffy said softly, gently trying to pull Dad away from Sam.

"Your sister's right. We don't have time for this!" Dad shouted.

"Last time we were together, you said it was too dangerous and you took off. Now, out of the blue, you need our help! Something big's going on and we want to know what it is!" Sam demanded.

"Get back in the car!" Dad ordered.

"No," Sam answered coldly.

"I told you to get back in the car," Dad repeated, his tone unyielding.

"I heard you," Sam hissed. "I said no."

"Alright, this has gone far enough!" Buffy insisted, forcing herself between her father and her brother. This fight was reminding her of the one between Angel and Riley. "There has been enough testosterone poisoning for one night. Back up right now, or I swear that neither of you will walk away with all your body parts." She glared at Sam then turned to her father. "Either of you willing to take that chance?"

"Look, we're all tired, let's talk about this later, alright?" Dean said, trying to pull Sam away.

Sam let him, muttering, "This is why I left in the first place!"

"What was that?" Dad demanded.

Sam turned around, glaring at Dad over Buffy's head. "You heard me!"

"That's right ! _You_ left. Your brother, sister and I? We _needed_ you! You walked away, Sam!" Dad shouted, attempting to walk forward, only to be stopped by Buffy. "_You_ walked away!"

"Stop!" Dean cried.

Sam ignored him. "You were the one who told me not to come back, Dad. You closed that door, not me! You were just pissed off that you couldn't control me anymore!"

"Alright, that's enough," Buffy declared. She punched Sam, causing him to crumble. Dean caught him and dragged him back to the Impala. She turned to her father. "Say one more word, and you'll be sleeping in your truck."

Dad raised his hands, palm out and backed away to his truck. Buffy joined Dean in getting Sam into the back seat. "Did you have to hit him?" he asked wearily.

"He'll be up in a few minutes, long enough for one of us to be behind the wheel. It was the best option I could come up with. I would've hit Dad, but I didn't want to drive the truck."

* * *

The Winchesters had a guest when they arrived back at their cabin that night. "Was wondering where you all disappeared to." The words were accompanied with the snick of a Zippo. The flame lit up Spike's face as he lit his cigarette. "Hello, luv."

"Spike, you look better," Buffy said as she got out from behind the steering wheel, ignoring the enraged stare Sam was trying to kill her with.

"Is this everyone?" Spike asked, pushing off the cabin wall. "I don't want to have to repeat myself."

Dad got out of his truck and stomped over to Buffy. "What the hell was that back there?"

"That was me getting tired of you and Sam fighting. He's fine, by the way," Buffy answered.

Dad spotted Spike standing at Buffy's shoulder. "Who are you?"

"Dad, meet Spike, the person I was helping this afternoon," Buffy said. "He's got friends who were kidnapped by the vamps. He's going to help."

The look in Buffy's eyes prevented Dad from arguing.

* * *

The next morning Spike led the Winchesters to the vampires' lair. They watched as one drove a car up to the barn door. The driver was met by another male vamp and ushered inside.

"Son of a bitch, they're really not afraid of the sun," Dean breathed.

Buffy turned to Spike, her mouth open and prepared to ask a question, but was stopped when Spike answered it. "He was cursed, luv, and solar vulnerability was part of it."

"Direct sunlight hurts like a bad sunburn. The only sure way to kill them is beheading. And yeah, they sleep during the day, but that doesn't mean they won't wake up," Dad informed them.

"So walking in isn't the best plan," Dean reasoned.

"Actually, that's the plan," Dad smiled.

They walked back to the cars in silence. Spike was worried. Buffy might not remember who she was, but that didn't mean that the vamps inside wouldn't. Buffy, the Vampire Slayer, was legend, everywhere he went, creatures of the dark had heard of her, and most knew what she looked like. Buffy would be vulnerable in there if any of the vampires recognized her.

Faith had the advantage of not being as well known, so she should be fine, especially if the vampires recognized her as belonging to Angel. His own mark was on Dawn, but he wondered if his mark was protection enough.

"Buffy, take these," he said, holding out the stake that Kendra had named Mr. Pointy, and three stakes made of yew. "You won't need to behead them. Use these."

Dad looked up at Spike. "What do you know that I don't?"

"Quite a bit," Spike answered, looking Dad in the eye.

"Dad, we've got an extra machete if you need one," Dean called from the trunk of the Impala, not paying any attention to Buffy and Spike.

Dad glanced at Dean then back at Spike before heading to his truck. "I'm good," he said, watching as his weapons rack extended from the back of the truck. He got out the weapons that he wanted and watched Sam and Dean arm themselves. "So, you really want to know about this gun?"

Sam glanced from Buffy to Dean, taking in the looks on their faces before answering. "Yes, sir."

Dad took in a deep breath. "It's just a story, a legend really. I wasn't sure it was real until I read Daniel's letter. The story goes like this. Back in 1835, when Hally's Comet was overhead, durning the Siege of Bexar, they say Samuel Colt made a gun, a special gun. He made it for a Hunter, a man like us, only on horseback.

"The story goes he made thirteen bullets. The hunter used the gun half a dozen times before both he and the gun disappeared. Somehow, Daniel got ahold of it. They say this gun will kill anything."

"Anything?" Dean repeated. "Like supernatural, anything?"

"Like the demon?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, like the demon," Dad confirmed. "Since I picked up its trail, I've been looking for a way to destroy that thing. Find the gun and we may have it."

"Be careful, Buffy," Spike whispered. "A lot of people are looking for that gun." Buffy nodded and followed her brothers and father to a low hanging window.

* * *

Dad went in first, followed by Dean, Sam, Buffy, and Spike. Dad took off and Buffy and Spike quickly took point, walked silently through the room where vampires had fallen to sleep in hammocks hung haphazardly throughout the room.

Buffy cringed when she heard one of the boys run into a beer bottle, but the clink of it falling didn't wake anyone up. The four of them made their way to the front of the barn, where two people were tied up to a post, apparently asleep.

Spike released a deep breath when he heard their heartbeats and hurried to help Sam untie Faith and Dawn. "You okay, Bit?" Spike whispered, brushing Dawn's hair from her forehead. "All in one piece?"

"Spike?" she whispered, blinking the sleep out of her eyes. "You're here?"

"Yeah, I'm here."

"What took so long?" she demanded in a whisper.

"Ran into some friends," he answered, pointing to Buffy, who was helping Dean open the cage in the corner. There was a loud crash from the hinges dropping. Faith jerked, opening her eyes and recognized Sam and Spike in an instant.

Faith wasn't the only one the noise woke up. There was a thump and Dad ran out, with Kate and Luther behind him. The vampires came to a halt when they saw Spike standing in front of Dawn, Buffy at his side.

"This is something I wasn't expecting. Who are you?" Luther demanded, letting his demon out.

Spike answered the call, transforming his own face. "I'm William the Bloody. You took something that belongs to me and my Sire."

"You're William the Bloody?" Kate scoffed in disbelief. "I'd expected you to be a bit taller."

"Never judge people on their height. It makes people cranky," Buffy quipped, stepping forward and causing Kate and Luther's attention to shift to her, something that Spike was trying to avoid.

"Who are you?" Kate asked.

Faith had untied herself by now and jumped up, gently pushing Buffy away, taking one of her yew stakes. "Doesn't matter who she is. I'm the one you have to worry about." She watched as Luther gave the order to attack.

Buffy ignored Dad's rushed order to run as Faith started attacking. She tossed a stake to Spike and the two of them joined Faith in dusting the coven. Buffy herself took out seven vampires without breaking a sweat.

When the fight was over, she walked into Luther's bedroom, grabbed the Colt, and walked out the main entrance, only to find Sam, Dean and Dad waiting for her with worry and fear written all over their faces. "What?" she asked, as Faith, Dawn, and Spike walked out of the barn behind her.

"What do you think you were doing?" Dad shouted, fear and anger clear in his voice. "What do you think you are? A vampire slayer!"

* * *

Buffy fell to her knees, head flung back and released a blood curdling scream as she and Faith collapsed. A bolt of pure white light shot from Faith into Buffy.

Spike watched with pain etched on his face. He watched as the essence of Buffy Summers was forced into Annabeth Winchester. All of Buffy's thoughts, opinions, beliefs and everything else were forcing Annabeth to make room and assimilate.

_*Flash*_

"_To make a vampire they have to suck your blood, and you have to suck their blood. It's like a big sucking thing. Mostly, they're just going to kill you."_

_*Flash*_

"_Who are you?" _

"_A friend."_

"_Yeah, well maybe I don't want a friend."_

"_Didn't say I was yours."_

_*Flash*_

"_I don't suppose you have a key on you?"_

"_They don't really like me dropping in."_

"_Why not?"_

"_They really don't like me."_

"_I can't imagine why."_

"_I knew you would've found this entrance sooner or later, though I thought you would've found it sooner."_

"_Sorry you had to wait. Look, if you're going to be popping in and out with this wise man act, can you at least tell me your name?"_

"_Angel."_

_*Flash*_

"_Well, there's got to be a way around it!"_

"_Listen! Some prophecies are mutable. Buffy herself had thwarted them again and again, but this is the Codex! There's nothing in here that doesn't come to pass!"_

"_Then you're reading it wrong!"_

"_I wish to god I were! Tomorrow night, Buffy will face the master and she will die."_

"_They say how he's going to kill me? Do you think it'll hurt? Were you even going to tell me?"_

"_I was hoping I wasn't going to have to, that there was some way around it."_

"_I got a way around it! I quit!"_

"_It's not that simple!"_

"_I'm making it that simple! I quit! I'm fired! I resign, you can get someone else to stop the Master from taking over!"_

"_I'm not sure that anyone else can. All the signs indicate. . ."_

"_The signs? READ ME THE SIGNS! TELL ME MY FORTUNE! YOU'RE SO USEFUL SITTING HERE WITH ALL YOU'RE BOOKS! YOU'RE REALLY A LOT OF HELP!"_

"_No, I don't suppose I am."_

"_I know that this is hard. . ."_

"_What do you know about it? You're never going to die!"_

"_You think I want anything to happen to you? You think I could stand it? We just have to figure out a way. . ."_

"_I already did. I quit, remember? Pay attention!"_

"_Buffy, if the master rises. . ."_

"_I. Don't. Care! I don't care. Giles, I'm sixteen years old. I don't want to die."_

_*Flash*_

"_You're dead!"_

"_I may be dead, but I'm still pretty, which is more than I can say for you."_

_*Flash*_

"_Like I wanted to stick around after that."_

"_What?"_

"_You have a lot to learn about men, kiddo. Although I guess you proved that last night."_

"_What are you saying?"_

"_Let's not make an issue out of it. It happened._

"_Was it me. Was I not good?"_

"_You were great! I thought you were a pro."_

_*Flash*_

"_I'm going to out on a limb and say that there's a new Slayer in town."_

_*Flash*_

"_You're weak. Everyone is. Everyone fails. Maybe this evil thing brought you back, but if it did, it's because it needs you, and that means you can hurt it. Angel, you have the power to do good, to makes amends. But if you're not going to try, you really are a monster."_

_*Flash*_

"_Faith, we need to talk about what we're going to do."_

"_There's nothing to talk about. I was doing my job."_

"_Being a Slayer's not the same as being a killer. Faith, please don't shut me out. Sooner or later, we're both going to have to deal."_

"_Wrong."_

"_We can help each other."_

"_I don't need it."_

"_Yeah, well who's wrong now? Faith, you can shut off your emotions if you want, but that's not going to make this go away. Eventually they're going to find the body."_

"_There is no body. I took it, weighted it, and dumped it. The body doesn't exist."_

"_Getting rid of the evidence doesn't make the problem go away!"_

"_It does for me."_

"_Faith, you don't get it. You _killed_ a man!'_

"_Buffy, you don't get it. I don't care!"_

_*Flash*_

_She was standing on a ledge looking down. Faith was lying in a trash truck, knife sticking out of her belly._

_*Flash*_

"_Professor Walsh? That simple recon you sent me on, wasn't a raccoon. Turns out it was me, trapped in the sewers with a faulty weapon and two of your pet demons. If you think that's enough to kill me, you really don't know what a Slayer is. Trust me when I say you're going to find out."_

_*Flash*_

"_You didn't think I was going to find you, did you?"_

"_Buffy, let's talk."_

"_Oh no, I don't think talking is in order now."_

"_She needs help!"_

"_Help? Do you have any idea what she did to me? Do you care?"_

"_She wants to change. She has a chance. . ." _

"_No chance. Jail."_

"_Buffy, I'm sor. . ."_

"_Finish that sentence and I'll beat you to death."_

_*Flash*_

"_The Key, you must protect the Key. For centuries it hat no form at all, just my brethren. Then the Abomination found us. We had to hide the Key, so we gave it form, molded it flesh, made it human, and sent it to you."_

"_Dawn."_

"_She is the Key."_

"_You put that thing in my house?"_

"_We knew the Slayer would protect."_

"_My memories, my mother's. . ."_

"_We built them."_

"_What is she?"_

"_Human. Now human, and helpless. Please, she's an innocent in this. She needs you."_

"_She's not my sister."_

"_She doesn't know that."_

_*Flash*_

"_She needs to know that she's still part of this family and that we love her."_

"_It's not that simple! We're not going to be able to fix this with a hug and a kiss and a bowl of soup! Dawn needs to know where she came from. She needs real answers!"_

"_She needs her sister, Buffy, not the Slayer."_

"_The Slayer's the only one standing between Dawn and this god from the bitch dimension that wants to shove her into some kind of lock and give her a good twirl!"_

_*Flash*_

"_Are you alright? Did she hurt you?"_

"_Why do you care?"_

"_Because you're my sister and I love you."_

"_No I'm not."_

"_Yes, you are. Look, it's blood. It's Summers blood. It's just like mine. It doesn't matter where you came from, or how you got here. You're still my sister."_

_*Flash*_

"_Dawn, listen to me. I love you. I will always love you. But this is the work I have to do. Tell Giles I figured it out, and that I'm okay. Give my love to all my friends. You have to take care of them now. You have to take care of each other. You have to be strong. Dawn, the hardest thing to do in this world, is to live in it. Be brave. Live. For me."_

_*Flash*_

* * *

Memory after memory played through Buffy's head as she screamed on the ground. She didn't notice Dean rush over and pull her into his lap, Sam and Dad on her other side.

"What's wrong with her!" Dad demanded, talking the Colt from Buffy's limp hands and pointing it at Spike.

Spike didn't answer, didn't have to. Buffy stopped screaming after several tense minutes. She pulled herself to the side and threw up. Faith fell still.

"Buffy?" Dean called, rubbing her back.

"You alright, luv?" Spike asked, though no one was sure if he was talking to Buffy to to Faith, who had just sat up.

"Buffy?" Dawn called.

"Dawn?" Buffy asked. She sat up, ignoring Dean. "Where's Dawn!"

"I'm right here. How are you feeling?" Dawn crouched beside Buffy, next to Dean.

"What's going on? Who are they?" Buffy asked, looking to Dean, Dad, and Sam before returning her attention to Dawn.

"Buffy?" Dean's voice sounded like it was going to break. Buffy looked back at him and back to Dawn.

"Sleepy," Buffy responded. She pulled on Dean's jacket, trying to get closer to him. She snuggled into his lap and fell asleep.

"What just happened?" Dad demanded.

"You activated a spell we were trying to avoid," groaned Faith.

"How?" Sam asked.

"Let's start at the beginning, shall we?" Spike suggested, lighting a cigarette. "This is the story of a girl, who jumped off a tower and saved the world, only to have her friends screw it up for her."

The Winchester men looked at Spike in confusion.

"To make a long story short, your daughter is the reincarnation of my older sister, at least that's the theory Willow came up with. But I'm not sure I can trust any of the information she gave us," Dawn said.

"Reincarnation?" Sam and Dean repeated.

"Why can't you trust her?" Dad asked.

"Both Red and Buffy's Watcher started acting weird just before we found a prophecy referring to the Boy King, the Returned and the Protector," Faith answered. "It was around last August that we discovered that a spell Willow did three years ago wasn't the fluke that everyone at the time thought it was."

"Willow's a witch?" Dad asked.

"Yeah, a pretty powerful one. She's a Wicca, getting her power from the Earth, rather than worshiping a demon," Dawn confirmed. "About three years ago, she tried to bring Buffy back from the dead, but was interrupted by demons riding motorcycles. They broke the Urn on Osiris, breaking the spell."

"A year after that I was killed and brought back by the worshippers of a demon called the First, a demon so old that it claimed to be the root of all evil," Faith picked up. "The point was to cause an imbalance on the good vs evil spectrum by having two Slayers. The First was released, as well as another demon, called Azazel."

"You released Yellow-Eyes!" Dad hissed, the tension in the air climbing up tremendously.

"I was an unwilling participant," Faith denied. "Dying isn't a pleasant experience, though I'm glad it's just been the once."

"Anyway," Dawn continued. "We discovered Buffy was alive in August when I was kidnapped, yet again. The gang used my blood to track me, find out where I was so they could get me. When Willow cast the spell, there were several possibilities. One option was Palo Alto, one in Oklahoma City, one in Canada, and one was in Ireland. Giles sent teams to each location. He got an interesting report back from the group that went to Oklahoma. They claimed to have seen Buffy with a man with sandy colored hair."

"We found the prophecy a few weeks later in the beginning of September," Faith continued. "Giles and Willow kept a close eye on Buffy since then, even sending us on missions to try and answer some of our questions. One of which includes the three of you. For some reason, that blood spell only found Dawn after that one time."

"If Willow's science is to be trusted, I'm your sister," Dawn said. That announcement caused all three Winchester men to turn their full attention on her, rather than split it between her and Faith.

Dean was examining her carefully. She had the same delicate features that Buffy possessed, had Dad's blue eyes and Sammy's brown hair coloring with Dad's straight texture. He could see his attitude in her, his loyalty.

One glance at Sam told Dean that he was thinking along the same lines, but it was clear that Dad wasn't. "How?" he demanded.

"Four years ago, there was a Hell Goddess named Glory," Spike began. "She was banished from her Hell Dimension by her fellow gods in order to keep her from taking over. Glory needed a specific piece to get her home, somethin' called the Key. When she found out the Slayer had it, she started gunnin' for her."

"Why didn't the Slayer just hand over the Key and let the god leave?" Dad asked.

"The monks that protected the Key couldn't anymore. They took it and transformed it. They gave it flesh and blood, made it human and gave it to the Slayer in the form of a little sister so she would protect it with her life," Dawn explained. "I freaked when I found out. Didn't take it well at all. They Key destroys the boundaries between dimensions. Once the blood starts, it only ends when the blood stops."

"In the end, to prevent Glory from going home, and Niblet from being killed, Buffy jumped into the portal that Glory's minions had started," Spike concluded.

Dean, Sam, and Dad looked at the girl curled up in Dean's lap, surprised and in awe.

"The spell your father activated was forced into me by Willow. If anyone said 'Vampire Slayer' to Buffy while I was around, she would be forced to remember who she was at once, rather than gradually, like she had been," Faith said.

* * *

Buffy didn't wake up for two days. The Winchesters didn't leave her bed, neither did Dawn. It wasn't Dawn she called out for this time. "Dean."

"Yeah, darlin'? You alright?" he asked, brushing hair from her forehead.

"I had the weirdest dream," she muttered, voice muffled with sleep. "I was a vampire slayer in California." She sat up and accepted the coffee that Dean handed her.

"I don't think it was a dream," Dean said, pointing to Dawn.

Buffy followed Dean's finger and saw Faith and Spike on the other side of the room, and Dawn beside him. "Buffy? Do you know who I am?" Dawn asked. She wasn't sure if the monk's memory trick was going to work.

"Dawnie?" Buffy's voice cracked as she pulled her sister into a hug. "I've missed you so much! Have you been behaving for Spike?"

"Yeah, he's been great. All I could ask for, though he was no substitute for you."

Buffy smiled softly. "Dean, Sam, meet your younger sister, via a blob of mystic green magic."

"You sure she's our sister?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, I'm sure. The monks made her out of me," Buffy explained.

"Welcome to the family, kid," Dean said, ruffling Dawn's hair.

"As nice as this is, I've got to get going," Dad said, pulling on his jacket.

"That's it? You wait until I'm awake then you're out the door?" Buffy asked.

"You're alright, that's what matters. Now I've got a demon to kill."

"You're going after the demon alone?" Sam demanded. "After all Buffy's been through, you're leaving her?"

"You don't think I'm your daughter anymore, do you?" Buffy accused. "I'm still me, Dad. I'm still Annabeth. The only part of me that's changed is me knowing where I've been. That doesn't change who I am and where I'm going. I swear."

"I trust you, Buffy. I know you're the same person you were," Dad reassured her. "But we need to kill the thing that killed your mother. You stay with Dean and Sam. They're going to make sure that you're going to be alright. I'm trying to keep you safe."

"Dad, with all do respect, but that's crap. Buffy doesn't need to be sidelined. We need to stay together. We're stronger as a family, and that's the best way to help Buffy get back to normal. Routine," Dean insisted.

"I don't expect to make it out of this fight in one piece. I can't watch my children die. You're mother's death almost killed me, and I'm not going to go through that again," Dad confessed.

"What about us, Dad?" Buffy asked. "What happens to us if you die and we could've done something about it? If anything, I'm better than I was, and we've got another Slayer, a top notch researcher, and a vampire that knows more than all of us combined when it comes to the bad things. What's to loose?"

"He's a vampire?" Dad asked, grabbing the nearest knife.

"He's one you're not allowed to kill. You got some of your vampire lore wrong. Spike lives off of animal blood," Buffy explained. Dad looked as if he were going to protest. "If he goes on a rampage, I'll kill him, alright, but give him a chance. He's been taking care of my sister for the past three years."

Dad sighed and looked around the room, wondering how in Hell he had gotten where he was. "It scares the hell out of me. You and your brothers are all I've got, but I guess you're right. We are stronger as a family. So, we go after this damn thing. . . together."

Buffy let out a breath she was unaware she was holding. "Yes, sir," she, Dean and Sam chorused, each with a small smile on their face.

"Just one question," Dawn said, raising her hand. "Why are we going after Azazel?"


	12. Salvation

Salvation

* * *

It took the better part of two days to get everyone caught up with everything and everyone on the same page. Buffy, with the help of Dean, Sam, and Dad, filled the other three about what they were fighting, and why.

Through out the explanations, Buffy didn't stray from Dean's side for any longer than was necessary. No one drew any attention to Buffy's behavior. Dad was still very wary of the newcomers, but trusted them because Buffy vouched for them.

Buffy took Dean to the side and filled him in on her rocky relationship with Faith, but since her information regarding the other Slayer was outdated, they agreed to wait and see. Buffy's past with Faith seemed to be resolved when it came to Dawn. If Buffy could start over with Faith, then she was willing, after all, the girl had been an unwilling participant in her memory restoration.

At the moment, Dad was showing everyone all the information he had managed to collect about the demon, Azazel. "So this is it. This is everything I know, everything I've been able to dig up on the thing. We've been searching for this thing our whole lives. Not a sign until about a year ago. For the first time, I pick up a trail."

"And that's when you left me, back in October," Buffy stated.

"That's right," Dad confirmed. "The Demon must've come out of hibernation, or whatever."

Spike walked over to stand beside Dad. "What's this trail you've found?"

Dad glared at him before turning back to Buffy and reminded himself that Spike was just trying to help. "It starts in Arizona, then goes to New Jersey, California. Houses burn down to the ground. It's going after families, just like it went after ours."

"Families with infants?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, on the night of the kid's six month birthday."

"I was six months old that night?" Sam asked.

"Exactly six months," Dad confirmed.

"So this demon's going after these kids for some reason, the same way it came for me?" Sam asked. Dad didn't answer, looking at the floor instead. "So Mom's death, Jessica, it's all my fault?"

"No, Sam, it's not," Buffy quickly denied.

"Oh really? Cause I'd say we're pretty damn sure, Buffy!"

"For the last time, what happened to them isn't your fault!" Dean insisted.

"It may not my fault, but it's my problem!" Sam shouted.

"It's not your problem, either, Sam. It's our problem!" Buffy said. "We're all in this together."

"That's enough!" Dad growled as he stood up, and Buffy and Dean fell silent.

Sam inhaled deeply exhaled slowly. "So, why is it doing it? What does it want?"

Dad fell back into his chair. "Look, I wish I had more answers, I do. I've always been one step behind it. I've never gotten there in time to save. . . ."

"How do you use this mumbo jumbo to actually find this thing?" Spike asked, pointing around the room to the various maps, pictures, and scraps of paper that Dad had scattered around the room.

"Is there a pattern?" Dawn asked.

"Yeah, there is. It took me a while to see it, but in the days before the fires, there were signs of a buildup in the area: cattle deaths, temperature fluctuations, electrical storms. Then I went back and checked, and. . ."

"These signs were in Lawrence," Dean finished.

"And in Palo Alto," Sam added.

"And they're starting again. In Salvation, Iowa," Dad announced.

* * *

It took a while to decide who was riding with who, but in the end, Buffy was sitting in the passenger's seat of her father's truck, with Dawn in the back. Sam and Dean were in the Impala and Spike took Faith in the DeSoto. Dad wasn't too happy with the arrangement, but he didn't let his unhappiness effect him, or stop him from asking questions.

"How much do you trust these people?" he asked as pulled onto the high way, leading the caravan.

"I trust Dawn and Spike with my life," Buffy answered without hesitation.

"But not Faith?"

"The last time I remember seeing her, she had just swapped bodies with me. She did a remarkable job of ruining my life. She saw that she had done something wrong after a long while, then turned herself into the police. She was in jail when I jumped," Buffy replied. "She did some nasty things to my mother before I got there to protect her. But if Dawn trusts her, I'm willing to give her another try."

"You said Spike was a vampire? Why are we working with him?" Dad asked.

"During my time as a Slayer, I had to think in terms of gray, rather than black and white. Not everything supernatural deserves to be killed," Buffy answered, aware that Dawn was listening to every word she and her father said.

"You know I don't like working with people I don't know," Dad said.

Buffy nodded. "I remember, but I have a feeling that they have no where else to go." Their argument was interrupted when Dad's cell phone rang. Buffy snatched it before he could begin to reach it and flipped it open. "Hello?"

* * *

"What is it?" Dean asked, getting out of the Impala and walking to meet Buffy and Dad half way between the Impala and the truck.

"Caleb just called," Buffy said. "Pastor Jim's dead."

"How?" Sam asked.

"His throat was cut. He bleed out," Buffy sighed. "Caleb said they found traces of sulfur at Jim's place."

"A demon?" Dean asked. "Or The Demon?"

"I don't know," Dad said. "It's possible, or Jim could've just slipped up. Maybe the Demon knows we're after it."

"Do we have a game plan?" Spike asked. He and Faith had joined them from the DeSoto.

"We act like every second counts. There are two hospitals and a health center in this county. We'll have to split up to cover more ground. I want records, a list of every child that's going to be six months old this week," Dad ordered. "And I want one of them with one of us."

"I'll take Spike," Buffy said, glancing between her brothers and her father. "We'll take the health center."

"You boys take the kid and Memorial Hospital, I'll take the Slayer and Divine Hospital. Get in your cars and go to your hospital. We'll meet at the motel when we're done," Dad continued, ignoring Dawn's scoff at being called a kid.

"Dad, that could be dozens of kids. How will we know when we've got the right one?" Sam asked.

"We check them all, unless you've got a better idea," Dad challenged. Sam shook his head. Buffy and Spike turned and walked to the DeSoto, not paying attention to Dad's vow to end their vendetta as soon as possible.

* * *

"Why did you really choose to go with me?" Spike asked as he lowered the music and pulled out from behind the Impala.

"You're the only one not expecting anything from me," Buffy answered. "I don't know who I am anymore. I've existed at two different points in time. Annabeth went to school with Buffy back in LA, so technically I met myself. How many people can say that?

"On top of all of that I have to piece together an identity that's neither purely Buffy or Annabeth, but a combination of the two, Buffy's always wanted a normal life. She didn't enjoy being a Slayer. She wanted it over. She had a death wish, and she got it.

"Then there's Annabeth. She and her twin brother raised their younger brother, starting when they were four. She's never lived any other life, but quietly wondered what a normal life actually was like. She's had to play peacekeeper, mother, cheerleader, sister, and confidant all while trying to find a place that where she is herself. I don't know if I know how to be Buffy Summers again."

"No one is asking you to choose between one person or the other," Spike said softly. "All Dawn wanted was her sister alive. I think she got what she wanted. And to be honest, I don't see a difference between Buffy and Annabeth."

"You never knew Annabeth," Buffy pointed.

"I know enough," Spike said. "Annabeth cares deeply for family and friends. She protects those she loves, and stands up for those who can't. Buffy was all those things too. So don't sell yourself short."

* * *

The tension in the Impala was thick enough to cut through with a knife. Finally, Dean turned down the music, and asked a question. "How long have you known about monsters?"

"Unofficially, since Buffy was called when she was fifteen. She started acting funny just as Mom and Dad were beginning the Great Divorce of 1996. At first, I thought she was leaving to escape the fighting, but later I saw her come back with blood stains on her clothes," Dawn answered. "After she got back from the institution. . ."

"Institution?" Sam asked.

"Yeah. After she burned down the gym, Dad had her committed because she claimed she was 'some mystic warrior' and she fought 'vampires'. Anyway, when she got out, she was suckered back into the world when she met both Giles and Angel. She began coming and going at all hours of the day and night with weird things on her clothes. She finally told Mom about Slaying at the end of her Junior year, before she ran away," Dawn continued. "Two years later, she's dealing with a Hell Goddess, and Mom's death."

"You're mother's dead?" Dean asked.

"Yeah, I thought you knew that, being my biological brother, and all," Dawn retorted.

"That's not who he mean, Dawn, and I think you knew that," Sam corrected.

"Don't you feel cheated?" Dean asked, glancing at Sam. "I mean, our sister had this whole other life, that she apparently led first, and we know nothing about it!"

"Buffy didn't know anything about it either," Dawn pointed out. "She didn't hide this from you on purpose!"

"Don't you think that she's just as freaked out about this as you're trying not to be?" Sam asked. "She's got to be going through some kind of identity crisis, and you accusing her of things she can't control. Give her some slack, some time to get used to everything,"

* * *

Faith kept her eye on John Winchester. She wasn't sure how much she trusted him, or if he even trusted her. "My daughter is willing to give you the benefit of the doubt. Don't make us regret it," John growled.

"Yes, sir. You won't regret it," Faith said. The rest of the trip was done in grave silence, with Faith feeling a little better about being alone with John.

* * *

Nothing significant happened until Dean, Dawn, and Sam left Memorial Hospital. Sam started rubbing his forehead and began to curl up on himself. Dean managed to catch him and guided him to a nearby bench.

"Is he okay?" Dawn asked, concerned.

"He's getting a vision," Dean answered.

"Monica Holt and her daughter Rose. 34 Elmira Street," Sam hissed.

"What about them?" Dean asked, crouching down in front of Sam, holding him by the shoulders and staring into Sam's face.

"The Demon's going to be there!"

Dean and Dawn helped Sam get back into the car and they drove to the nearest motel. After He got checked in, Dean gave both Dad and Buffy a call, letting them know what was going on. Buffy didn't argue and reported that she and Spike would be there soon. Dad was more argumentative, but agreed to meet at the motel.

* * *

An hour later, everyone was in the sam room and Sam, with Dawn and Dean's help, explained what had happened.

"A vision?" Dad repeated.

"Yes," Sam sighed. "I saw the demon burning Monica Holt on the ceiling."

"Alright. And you think it's going to happen to this woman because?" Dad asked.

"These things happen just the way I see them," Sam finished.

"They started out as nightmares, then began happening while he was awake," Buffy explained.

"It's like the closer I get to the demon, or anything involved with it, the stronger the visions get," Sam added.

"When were you going to tell me about this?" Dad demanded.

"We didn't know what they meant," Dean shrugged.

"When something like this starts happening to your brother, you pick up the phone and you call me!"

"Are you kidding me?" Dean laughed dryly.

"Sam called you when Dean was dying, Dean called you from Lawrence!" Buffy said.

"We've got a better chance of winning the lottery than getting you on the phone!" Dean insisted.

"You're right. Through I'm not happy with your new tones," Dad apologized.

"Visions or no visions, it looks like this demon's coming tonight," Dawn said.

"And that family's going to go through the same hell we went through," Sam added, rubbing his forehead.

"No, they're not," Dad denied. "No one else is going to go through that."

The ringing of Buffy's phone broke the tension. Buffy sighed and pulled it out. "Hello?"

"Buffy?"

"Do I know you?" Buffy asked.

"You should. I used to be your best friend, before you joined the Winchester family, and their crusade."

"Willow?" Buffy guessed. Spike glanced up in surprise and Dawn's face went pale.

"There you go," Willow confirmed. "You and your brothers did something very mean to my sister. She's understandably pissed."

"I'm surprised she could be anything," Buffy said. "That was a seven story drop!"

"We tend to bounce back rather quickly," Willow smirked. "Meg and I would like to speak with your father."

"I haven't seen him," Buffy replied quickly.

"Buffy, you never could lie to your friends that easily."

"I did alright."

"No, you didn't. Now, before you hand off the phone, let me give you some incentive."

The phone was moved and someone else began to talk. "Why is it always me and demons? You gotta help me!"

"Hear that?" Willow laughed. "Xander's right here, and you're going to hear him die!"

"Willow! Don't!" Buffy shouted, but it was too late. Buffy could hear him protesting just before a choking noise. Willow had just slit his throat.

"Now, let me speak to your father."

Dad didn't give Buffy a choice. He took the phone from her, and pushed her towards Dean. "This is John."

"About time. I'm going by Willow. I'm a friend of Spike, Faith and Dawn. I watched as Meg sliced into Jim Murphy's throat and we laughed as he choked on his own blood."

"You bitch."

"Thank you for your kind words. That was yesterday. Now we're in Lincoln," Willow continued. "Meg and I are visiting another old friend of yours."

Dad heard Willow remove something before Caleb began to talk. "John, whatever they want, don't. . ."

Dad couldn't hear anything else clearly. His face was pale and he was running a hand over the lower part of his face. "You listen to me! He's got nothing to do with this, let him go!"

"We know you have the Colt, John," Willow said.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Dad denied.

"What is it with you guys and lying today?" Willow muttered. "Then listen to this." There was the sound of a blade swishing through the air and a choking noise. "Hear that, John? That's the sound of your friend dying!"

Buffy, Dean, Sam, Dawn, Spike, and Faith were all watching Dad's responses to Willow's threats. Dad was barely hiding his anger, which was visible with a tightly controlled shaking.

"Let's start over. We know you have the gun, John. Word travels fast. So, as far as we're concerned, you just declared war, and war has casualties," Willow continued.

"I'm going to kill you, you know that? And your bitch sister too!" Dad vowed.

"Oh, please! You're going to kill Toto too?" Willow scoffed. "So, here's what we're going to do. Meg and I are going to keep hunting down your friends. Anyone who's ever heard the name John Winchester and gave you any form of help, will die. Unless you hand over that gun."

Dad sighed, running his hand over the top of his head.

"Better answer John. Then again, I'm kinda hoping you won't. I want to kill your friends."

"I'll do it," Dad said, startling everyone in the room.

"I'm sorry?"

"I said I'll do it!" Dad repeated.

"There's a warehouse in Lincoln on the corner of Walbash and Lake. You are going to meet me there, and you're going to come alone. Be here by midnight, tonight."

"It's at least a day's drive, and I can't take a gun on a plane," Dad tried to negotiate.

"Looks like you should've left yesterday," Willow said, then hung up.

* * *

"You knew Willow was a demon?" Buffy asked in disbelief.

"Knew, no. Suspected, maybe. We thought it might've been Giles," Faith corrected.

"Now it could be both," Dawn added.

"What about Meg? You think she's a demon too?" Sam asked.

"Either that or she's possessed by one, as well as your friends," Dad agreed. "Did any of you tell anyone where you were going when you left?"

"No," Dawn answered quickly, "but that doesn't mean that no one knows where we are. Lisa and her Watcher are in charge, but if they need to know where we are, all they have to do is cast a locater spell."

"Do you think that this Willow's going to go after any more of your people?" Dad asked.

"I don't think so, at least not right away. They're after you, not us," Faith answered.

"Good. I don't want to see any more friends die on my watch!" Dad insisted. "I'm going to Lincoln."

"What?" Dean demanded.

"It seems like I don't have a choice," Dad said.

"You're not going alone," Buffy insisted.

"Yes, I am. I'm not going to let anyone else get hurt."

"Dad, that demon's coming tonight for Monica and her family. That gun's all we have to stop it. You can't just hand it over!"

"Besides us and a few vampires, no one knows what the Colt looks like!" Dad pointed out.

"You going to pick up another at a pawn shop?" Dean asked.

"No, antique store."

"You're going to give Meg and Willow a a fake gun and hope they don't notice?" Buffy asked.

"As long as it's close she won't be able to tell the difference," Dad reasoned.

"You just have to hope she doesn't test it while you're there," Spike pointed out, but few people were listening.

"Yeah, but for how long? What happens when they find out?" Dean asked.

"I just need to by some time. A few hours," Dad said.

"You mean for us?" Sam asked. "You want us to kill the demon by ourselves?"

"I want this to be over," Dad insisted.

* * *

Dean pulled up in front of Dad's truck. "Did you get it?" Dad asked.

Dean reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a bag. Dad took the gun out of the paper bag and compared it to the Colt, before handing the Colt to Dean. "You do know that this is a trap, right?" Dean asked, taking the Colt.

"I can handle them," Dad assured Dean. "I've got a whole arsenal with me."

"Promise me something, Dad," Buffy said. "If this goes south, you'll get out. You're no good to us dead."

"Same goes for you, all of you." Dad said, glancing from Buffy to Dean to Sam, before turning to Dean. "Listen to me, they made special bullets for this Colt, and once they're gone, the gun's useless. There's four left, so make them count."

"Yes, sir," the Winchester siblings chorused.

"I've been waiting a long time for this fight, and now I'm not going to be in it. It's up to you three now. You finish this, finish what I started, alright?"

"Yes, sir."

"You take care, Dad." Sam said. "We'll see you soon."

Buffy pulled Spike and Faith to the side. "I want you two to follow him. Keep an eye on him and try to bring him back alive."

"We'll do our best," Spike nodded, and Buffy watched as both Dad's truck and Spike's DeSoto pulled away and into the night.

* * *

John looked into the rear view mirror when he hit the Nebraska border. He didn't think that Buffy would let him go that easily, and he was right. He saw Spike's DeSoto a few cars behind him, which made him feel a little better. He hated not having backup, even if it was in the form of a vampire and a woman who had tried to kill his daughter. But if Buffy was willing to trust them, he'd give them a chance to prove themselves before refusing their help.

On the other hand, one of their own was most likely going to be at the warehouse with Meg. They were going for them as much as they were going to provide backup for him. He tried to focus on how he was going to get out of this without endangering anyone. It gave something, other than his music, to concentrate on.

John reached the warehouse half an hour before he was scheduled to meet Willow and Meg. Getting out of the truck, he took stock of what he had. The fake Colt was sitting in the inside pocket of his jacket at his waist. The inside breast pocket contained his flask of Holy Water and a rosary.

Spike and Faith walked up to him, no sign of the car anywhere in the area. "We got a plan?" Faith asked.

"We need to see what we've got to work with. There's a water tower on the roof that we can make use of, if the pipes run into the building," John said, pointing.

"Alright. Who's going to bless the water? None of us are priests," Spike pointed out.

"You don't need to be ordained to bless water, just need the right phrases in Latin," John corrected. "Now, when it comes time, I want you two to stay out of sight. I need my backup to be as invisible as possible. It's the best way to get out of here alive."

"Okay." Both Spike and Faith nodded their heads and disappeared into the darkness.

John turned and walked into the warehouse, immediately noticing the water pipes. He made his way to the roof and to the water tower.

* * *

Buffy, Dean, Sam, and Dawn were sitting in the Impala in front of the house that Sam saw in his vision, the boys in the front and the girls in the back. "So, how are you going to get the family out of the house?" Dawn asked, the silence growing oppressive.

"Maybe we could tell them that there's a gas leak," Sam suggested.

"When has that actually worked for us?" Dean pointed out.

"You could always tell them the truth," Dawn interjected.

"Naw," all four said, shaking their heads.

"It's just, with what's coming for these people. . ." Sam trailed off.

"Sam, we've got one move and you know it, alright? We got to wait for the demon to show itself, and then we get it before it gets them," Buffy said.

"I wonder how Dad's doing," Sam muttered.

"I'd feel better if we were there backing him up," Dean grumbled.

"I'd feel better if he were here, backing us up," Sam countered.

"If it makes you feel better, Dad's got backup," Buffy said, repeating something that both brothers knew. "Faith and Spike followed him."

* * *

John found his way to the roof and up to the water tower, narrowly avoiding being seen by the blonde and the red head in the parking lot two stories below. He closed his eyes and hoped that Spike and Faith were as good as Buffy remembered them being.

After counting to ten, John stepped out of his hiding place and quickly climbed the ladder up to the opening of the tower. He took the rosary out of his pocket and muttered the blessing, then dropped the rosary into the water. He shut the lid as quietly as he could and made his way back to the ground floor.

It was close to midnight when Sam next spoke. "This is weird."

Buffy turned to face him. "What do you mean?"

"After all these years, we're finally here. It doesn't seem real," Sam answered.

"We've got to keep our heads and do our job, just like always," Dean said.

"But this isn't always," Sam pointed out.

"Tell me about it," Buffy muttered, as Dean nodded his head in agreement.

"Dean, Buffy, I want to thank you," Sam began.

"For what?" Dean and Buffy asked at the same time.

"For everything. You two've always had my back. Even when I couldn't count on anyone, I could always count on the two of you, and now I don't know. . . I guess I just wanted you to know. Just in case."

Buffy smiled sadly, but Dean stared at Sam incredulously. "You've got to be kidding me."

"What?" Sam asked, surprised.

"Don't say in case something happens to you. I don't want to hear it, okay? No one's going to die tonight. Not one of us, not any of that family, no one. Except that demon. That evil son of a bitch isn't getting any older than tonight, you hear me?" Dean declared.

Buffy and Dawn exchange looks, both thinking about that night on the top of a tower made by crazy people. Buffy reached over and gave Dawn's hand a tight squeeze before adding her agreement to Dean's words. "This isn't an either/or situation. No one else is going to die tonight, if we can help it, Sam."

* * *

John walked into the open room in the main building a few minutes after midnight. He didn't see Faith and Spike anywhere, so he assumed that they had stayed out of sight.

"Maybe he's not going to show," the red head, Willow, John guessed, complained.

John walked into the room as she was complaining, his arrival making the blonde, Meg, change what she was going to say. "John, you made it. Too bad, really, I was hoping to kill more of your friends."

"Sorry to disappoint," John taunted, tone revealing that he wasn't disappointed at all.

"I can see where your boys get their good looks. Now, I must admit, considering what they say about you, I expected you to be a little taller," Meg purred.

John stared at the two of them, face blank.

"Aren't you the chatty one," Willow said, sweetly. "You want to get to business? That's fine. Why don't you hand over the gun?"

"If I give you the gun, where's my ticket out of here?" John asked.

"As good as they say you are, I'm sure you'll think of something," Meg taunted.

"Maybe I'll just shoot you," John replied, taking out the fake Colt and cocking it, pointing it at Meg.

"You want to shoot us, baby? Go ahead, it's not going to do anything. There's more where we came from," Willow purred. As she spoke a man came out of the shadows. He looked as if he was in his early fifties, around John's age.

"Who is he?" John demanded.

"He's not nearly as much fun as we are, I can tell you that," Meg answered. "So, suggest you give us the gun." Meg held her hand out, but John stood there, thinking of his options. Before he could do anything, there was the sound of two bodies dropping down on either side of him.

"Nice change of style, Ruby Red," Faith said in greeting. "And it looks like Giles joined your party too."

"I thought I said come alone," Willow hissed.

"I didn't know they were here," John lied.

"Do I get a finder's fee?" Spike growled from behind John. John's face struggled not to pale in fear and disappointment.

"You forget, Spike I know you," Willow smiled. "You wouldn't turn in the father of your precious Slayer." A stake appeared out of nowhere and thrust home, leaving John and Faith staring at a pile of ash, that once was a proud vampire. "I don't like liars who try to play me. Now, hand over the gun, NOW!"

John reluctantly put the safety on the gun and handed it over to Meg, who handed it to Giles. "What do you think?" she asked.

Giles cocked the gun, removed the safety, aimed at Meg and pulled the trigger, much to the surprise of everyone in the room. Meg stared down at the bullet hole and back at Giles. "You shot me! I can't believe you just shot me!"

"The gun's a fake," Giles said in a British tinge, ignoring the accusation.

"You're kids are dead," Willow promised.

Faith and John began to back away from the three angry demons. "I've never used that gun, how was I supposed to know it didn't work?" John asked

"I'm so not in the mood for this. I've just been SHOT!" Meg screamed.

"Well, then I guess you're lucky it wasn't real," Faith quipped.

"That's funny," Willow cooed. "We're going to strip the skin from your bones, but that was funny."

"This isn't good, she's already done that once," Faith muttered.

A noise deeper in the warehouse caused the three demons to look away momentarily, but it was long enough for John and Faith to run away. John was in the lead, and he headed for the sewers, Faith on his heels. They passed a long puddle by a water spigot, where John paused. "We've got to keep moving," Faith insisted.

"Do you trust me?" John asked, as Willow, Meg, and Giles arrived, standing on the drain at the other end of the puddle.

John turned the spigot on, water sprinkling towards the three demons.

All three smirked at them as Giles stepped into the water. His feet began to smoke and he quickly jumped back onto the drain. "Holy Water, real cute, John," Meg taunted. John just smiled and turned his back on the three angry demons, running back to his truck, Faith right behind him.

* * *

Dean closed his phone for the fifth time in twenty minutes. "Dad's not answering his phone," he grumbled.

"Maybe Meg was late, or maybe there's bad reception," Sam suggested.

"Or maybe he's in over his head," Dean muttered.

The radio stopped all talk of more speculation. It turned on of its own accord and began to hiss, changing stations randomly. "Dean, it's coming," Buffy warned. "Dawn, stay here. We won't be long." The three oldest siblings jump out of the car.

Dean made it to the house first and knelt to pick the lock. He was in by the time Buffy and Sam caught up with him. Quietly, they made their way through the house. Buffy made it to the foot of the stairs and Sam made it to the kitchen before any of them ran into trouble. A man wielding a baseball bat stepped out of the darkness and took a swing at Dean's head. "Get out of my house!" he shouted.

Sam and Buffy rushed to Dean, who had pinned the man to the wall. "Mr. Holt, please" Sam begged.

"Be quiet. Be quiet and listen to me," Dean whispered franticly. "We're trying to help you!"

"Charlie, is everything okay down there?" a woman's voice called from upstairs.

"Monica! Grab the baby!" Charlie shouted, as Buffy ran up the stairs.

"Don't go into the nursery!" Sam shouted, following Buffy up the stairs.

"Stay away from them!" Charlie demanded. He managed to throw Dean off him before Dean knocked him out. Sighing in frustration, Dean picked up the man in a fireman's carry and headed out the door.

Monica ran into the nursery, and was immediately thrust against the wall by the figure standing beside the crib. Buffy and Sam burst into the room as Monica slowly moved up the wall and into the ceiling, directly over baby Rose's crib, crying the whole time. Sam raised his arm, the Colt steady as he aimed for the heart and fired. The figure turned to smoke as soon as he pulled the trigger. "Where the hell did it go?" Sam asked in confusion.

Monica fell to the floor, landing beside the crib. Sam grabbed her before she could get closer to the baby. "No!" Sam shouted, pulling Monica towards his chest.

Buffy walked quickly past Sam. "Get her out of here, I'll get the baby."

Sam nodded and pulled Monica out of the room. "No! My baby!" Monica screamed, struggling to get free.

"Buffy's got her. She'll be fine!" Sam assured her, as he got Monica to the landing. Buffy reached into the crib and grabbed the baby, including the blanket she was wrapped in, just before the crib burst into flames.

* * *

John and Faith reached John's truck. "The tires have been slashed," Faith observed.

"Damn it," John cursed. "Where's your ride?"

"A few blocks from here. You want me to go get it and pick you up, or do you want to come with me?" Faith asked, thinking it would be faster if she went after the DeSoto alone, but not the safest option.

"Go get your car and get out of here!" John ordered.

"B will kill me if I leave you alone!" Faith protested.

"You're not going to have a choice!" John insisted, then took off in a dead sprint. Faith rolled her eyes and did as John asked. At the very least, she might be able to get the Council to save Giles and Willow.

The footsteps were getting closer. John took off down another alley, which led him to a big room, different than the one their ill fated meeting too place. He was taking stock of his options when he was slammed into a nearby wall. Looking up, he could see Meg, Willow, and Giles smirking at him.

* * *

Sam and Dean watched nervously as the nursery burst into flame. Each had to hold back the worried parents, and worry about Buffy. Something exploded, causing the first floor of the house to catch fire just as Buffy ran through the front door.

"You stay away from my family!" Charlie shouted.

"No, Charlie, don't. They saved us," Monica breathed as she accepted the baby from Buffy. "They saved us. Thank you."

Sam looked back at the house. Standing where the window of the nursery was, was a black figure. "It's still in there!" he shouted, running toward the house.

"Sam! No!" Dean screamed, catching Sam before he could make it three feet. "It's burning to the ground! It's suicide!"

"I don't care! Dean, Let me go!" Sam shouted.

"We do!" Buffy countered. Sam looked from his siblings back to the window. The shape vanished.

* * *

The next morning, Dean and Buffy alternated calling Dad's cell, neither expecting him to answer, but hoping that he would. It was Dean's turn when Sam broke out of his silent moping.

"Something's wrong," Dean muttered. Buffy nodded her agreement, but Sam stared at the floor. "You hear me, Sam? Something's wrong."

"If you had just let me go in there, I could've ended all this," Sam accused.

"The only thing you would've ended was your life," Buffy pointed out, crossing her arms.

"We don't know that," Sam said, petulantly.

"So, what, Sam? You willing to sacrifice yourself, is that it?" Dean demanded.

Sam stood up, face set in a defiant expression. "Yeah. Yeah, you're damn right I am."

Dean looked a little taken aback. "Yeah, well, that's not going to happen, not so long as I'm around."

"Or me," Buffy added.

"What the hell are the two of you talking about? We've been searching for this thing our whole lives! It's the only thing we've cared about, ever!"

"Sam, I want to waste it, I do, but if it means loosing someone else close to us, then I hope we never find the damn thing," Buffy said, honestly.

"That thing killed Jess! That thing killed MOM!" Sam screamed.

"You said it yourself once, no matter what we do, they're gone!" Dean said.

Sam grabbed Dean by the collar of his shirt and threw him into the wall. "Don't you say that! Not you! Not after all this, don't you say that!" He was close to tears, shaking to stop them from falling.

Buffy had to grab Dawn to stop her from coming to Dean's aid.

"Sam, look. The four of us, that's all we have. And that's all I have. Sometimes I feel like I'm barely holding it together, man. Without you, Buffy and Dad. . ." Dean trailed his sentence, both men ignoring the tears that fell.

Sam let him go and wiped his face with his sleeve. "Dad, he should've called by now. Try again."

Dean took his phone out of his pocket, otherwise not moving from the spot Sam left him. He pressed redial and was relieved when the phone was answered, though the tension flowed back when he realized who was speaking. "You boys really messed up this time."

"Where is he?" Dean demanded, straightening his back, his voice harsh and unyielding.

"You're never going to see your father again," Meg promised, then snapped the phone closed.


	13. Devil's Trap

Devil's Trap

* * *

"They've got Dad," Dean announced, slowly closing his phone.

"What did she say?" Sam asked.

"I just told you, okay?" Dean snapped, turning to face Sam. He picked up his duffel and began to pack. "We need to go."

Buffy nodded and began to pack her own bag, silently urging Dawn to pack as well.

"Why?" Sam demanded.

Dean picked up his old leather jacket and pulled it on. "Because they know we're in Salvation. They know we've got the Colt. They've got Dad, every ball is in their court, and they're probably coming for us next."

"We've still got three bullets. Let them come," Sam declared, refusing to move.

"Sam, we're not ready. We don't know how many are out there, and we're no good to anyone dead. Pack. We're leaving," Buffy said. Her tone gave no room to argue, and Sam knew it.

Fifteen minutes later the four of them were in the Impala and heading towards the high way, older two in front, younger two in back.

"I'm telling you, we could've taken them!" Sam insisted.

"What we need right now is a plan," Dean pointed out. "Now, they're probably keeping Dad alive, we just got to find out where. They're going to want to trade him for the gun." Sam made a face in the back seat that Dean caught in the rear view mirror. "What?"

"If that were true, wouldn't Meg have mentioned a trade?" Dawn asked, timidly.

"Dad might be. . ." Sam began.

"Don't!" Buffy and Dean shouted.

"Look, I don't want to believe it any more than you do, but if he is, all the more reason to kill the damn thing. We still have the Colt, we can still finish the job!" Sam pointed out.

"Screw the job, Sam!" Dean yelled.

"Dean, I'm just trying to do what Dad would've wanted. He would want us to keep going!" Sam insisted.

"Stop talking like he's dead already!" Buffy said, angrily. "Listen to me, everything stops until we get him back, hear me! Everything!"

"So, how do we find him?" Dawn asked, not sure if any of her input was welcome.

"Maybe we go to Lincoln. Start at the warehouse where he was taken," Dean guessed.

"Do you really think there will be anything to find?" Buffy asked.

"You're right. We're going to need help," Dean admitted.

"Bobby's?" Buffy suggested.

"Bobby's." Dean confirmed.

* * *

The rest of the trip to South Dakota, where Bobby Singer lived, was made in silence, with the occasional stop for food, fuel, and bathroom breaks. They got to the house early in the morning the next day.

Dean pulled in beside a blue pickup truck and led the way into the house. Bobby greeted them at the door and stepped aside far enough for the four of them to enter the house. He walked over to a cabinet and picked up two flasks, drinking from one as he handed the other to Dean. "What is this? Holy Water?" he asked.

"That one is. This is whiskey," Bobby agreed, in his gravelly voice. He took a swig before handing the whiskey off to Dean.

Dean took the whiskey and took a swig, handing it to Buffy, who copied him and handed it to Sam. Sam took his swig, but handed the flask back to Bobby before sitting at Bobby's desk and flipping through books. Buffy handed the Holy Water to Dawn, who rolled her eyes before taking a swig.

Bobby nodded approvingly before returning his attention to Dean. "Bobby, thanks, for everything. To tell the truth, I wasn't sure we should come."

"Nonsense," Bobby said, brushing off the apology. "You're Daddy's in trouble."

"Yeah, well, the last time we saw you, you threatened to shoot him," Buffy pointed out. "You cocked the shotgun and everything."

"Well, what can I say? John has that effect on people," Bobby shrugged.

"Yeah, I guess he does," Dean agreed.

Bobby glanced at Dawn before glancing back to Buffy and Dean. "Who's she?"

"This is Dawn, it's a long story," Buffy answered.

"I'm Buffy's sister from her previous life," Dawn answered at the same time.

Bobby cocked his head in confusion "Previous life?"

"It's a long story," Buffy repeated. "We'll fill you in later."

"Alright."

* * *

"Bobby, this book, I've never seen anything like it," Sam broke in.

Bobby walked over to the desk and sat on the corner so he could look at what Sam was talking about. "Key of Solomon? It's the real deal, alright."

"And these protective circles, do they really work?" Sam asked as Dawn walked over and looked over his shoulder.

"Hell yeah. You get a demon in, and they're trapped. Powerless. It's like a Satanic roach motel," Bobby laughed. Sam joined in.

"He knows his stuff, he's your Giles," Dawn observed.

"I'll tell you something else too. This is some serious crap the three of you stepped in," Bobby continued.

"Yeah? How?" Buffy asked.

"In a normal year I hear of three, demonic possessions, perhaps for tops. So far this year there have been twenty-seven. You get what I'm saying? More and more demons are walking among us. A lot more," Bobby said.

"Do you know why?" Dawn asked.

"No," Bobby admitted, "but I know it's something big. The storm's coming and you guys, your daddy, you're smack in the middle of it."

Barking could be heard from outside. "Rumsfeld," Bobby muttered, looking out the window. As quickly as it started, the barking came to a stop. "What is it?"

His question was answered when the door was kicked in. Meg stood there, rolling her shoulders and glancing quickly at everyone before settling on Dean. "No more crap, okay?" she demanded, walking into the room.

Dean stepped forward, unscrewing the cap to a flask of Holy Water, but before he could fling it at her, Meg raised her arm and Dean was flung into one of the many piles of books. She turned her attention to Sam, who had put himself in front of Bobby. She advanced on the two, as Sam backed away. "I want the Colt, Sam. The real Colt. Right now."

"We don't have it on us," Buffy lied, keeping Dawn behind her, backing into the library, just as Sam was.

"Didn't I say no more crap?" Meg asked rhetorically, continuing her advance.. "I swear, after everything I heard about you Winchesters, I've got to tell you, I'm a little underwhelmed. First Johnny tries to pawn off a fake gun, and leaves the real one with you three. Lackluster, man. I mean, did you really think I wouldn't find you?"

Dean stepped behind her a deep scowl on his face. "Actually, we were counting on it." Meg turned around, an unimpressed look on her face. Dean slowly glanced up and Meg followed his gaze. There on the ceiling was the Key of Solomon. "Gotcha."

* * *

"I don't want you to see this," Buffy told Dawn as Sam and Dean forced Meg into a chair and tied her down.

"I want to help!" Dawn insisted.

"Right now, the best way to do that is to stay out of our way," Buffy said. "Please, we're trying to find our Dad, no isn't the time to fight."

"He's my dad too!" Dawn pointed out.

"Not now, Dawn, please," Buffy begged. "Just stay in the study and look up something demons. See if you can find something that we missed."

Dawn huffed, but agreed. Buffy sighed and turned to the library, where Dean and Sam were finishing with Meg.

"You know, if you wanted to tie me up, all you had to do was ask," Meg cooed.

Bobby walked in holding a can of salt. "I salted the windows and doors. If there are anymore demons, they're not getting in."

Dean and Sam nodded their heads, and turned their attention to Meg.

"Where's our father, Meg?" Dean demanded.

"You didn't ask nicely," Meg purred.

"How's this then? Where's our father, bitch?" Buffy asked from the doorway.

"You kiss your mother with that mouth? Oh, I forgot, you don't," Meg taunted.

"You think this is a fucking game? Where is he? What did you do to him?" Dean shouted.

"He died screaming. I killed him myself," Meg answered, smiling. Dean pulled back his fist an slapped her across the face. Meg slowly turned her head to look at him, her smirk firmly in place. "That's kind of a turn on, you hitting a girl."

"You're no girl," Dean growled.

"Dean," Buffy called, and gently pulled him away.

"You okay?" Sam asked, slightly worried.

"She's lying. He's not dead," Dean insisted.

"I agree. Killing him would only make us go after them even more than we are already," Buffy agreed.

"You got to be careful with her, Dean," Bobby warned.

"Why? What are you talking about?" Sam asked.

"Because there really is a girl in there," Bobby answered. "That's a human possessed by a demon, can't you tell?"

Buffy cocked her head and closed her eyes, concentrating on Meg. It took a moment, but she could feel the difference between the demon and the girl. "I can now," Buffy answered.

"Are you telling me that there's an innocent girl trapped in there?" Dean demanded, glancing at Meg. Bobby nodded, a worried look on his face. "That's actually good news."

"Dawn," Buffy called, turning to face her. "How good is your Latin?"

* * *

"This one should work," Dawn said, turning the book around so Sam could read it. "Though I'm used to the corporeal demons."

"Thanks," Sam muttered absently, reading the exorcism.

He walked into the room, where Bobby, Buffy, and Dean were standing in a semi-circle around Meg. "Are you going to read me a story?" Meg taunted.

"Something like that," Dean sneered. "Hit it, Sam."

"Regna terrae, cantate deo, psallite domino. . ." Sam began.

"An exorcism?" Meg scoffed. "Really?"

"Oh, we're going all the way, baby. Think The Excorcist with all the perks," Buffy purred.

". . . tribuite virtutem deo," Sam could be heard in the silence.

Meg screamed, causing Sam to look up, before continuing. "I'm going to kill you," Meg hissed. "I'm going to rip the bones from your body!"

"No, you're going to burn in Hell!" Dean promised. "Unless you tell us where our Dad is!" Meg managed a sneer through her pain. "No? Well at least you'll get a nice tan." He looked at Sam, who had stopped reading.

Sam looked back down at his book and found his place, before continuing. "Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus, omnis satanica potestas, omnis incuriso infernalis adversarii, omnis legio, onmis congregatio et secta diabolica. . ."

Meg started screaming again, throwing her head back. Sweat was beading down her face, and her hair was clinging to her face. She groaned in pain and Sam stopped reciting the Latin.

"He begged for his life with tears in his eyes. Be begged to see his family one last time, and that's when I slit his throat!" Meg hissed through clenched teeth. Sam quickly began reading again.

Buffy walked over to Meg. Bracing herself on either arm of the chair Meg was in, she towered over Meg. "For your sake, I hope you're lying. If one hair is harmed on his head, you're going to have a seriously pissed off Slayer on your hands. You can do whatever the hell you like to me, but no one, and I repeat, _No One,_ messes with my family."

Sam's voice could be heard in the silence. "Perditionis venenum propinare. Vade, satana, inventor et magister omnis fallaciae. Hostis humanae salutis. Humiliare sub potenti manu dei. Contremisce et effuge. Invocato a nobis sancto et terribile nomine. Quem inferi tremunt. . ."

"Where is he!" Dean shouted.

"Dead!" Meg screamed.

"No! He's not dead! He can't be!" Dean shouted. "What are you looking at? Keep reading!"

But it wasn't Sam's voice that resumed the exorcism. It was Dawn's. "Ab insidis diaboli, libera nos, domine. Ut ecclesiam tuam secura tibi facias, libertate servire, te rogamus, audi nos. Ut inimicos sanctae ecclesiae humiliare digneris, to rogamus audi. . ."

"He will be!" Meg screamed.

"Wait, what?" Dean asked, raising his arm to stop Dawn.

"He's not dead, but he will be after what we do to him," Meg breathed, talking through her pain.

"How do we know you're telling the truth?" Buffy demanded.

"You don't," Meg smirked.

"Dawn, Sam" Buffy called.

"A building, alright! A building in Jefferson City!" Meg admitted.

"Missouri? We need an address," Buffy said.

"I don't know!"

"And the demon we're looking for? Where is it?" Sam demanded.

"I don't know! That's everything, I swear!" Meg begged.

"Finish it!" Dean ordered.

"What?" Meg demanded in disbelief. "I told you the truth!"

Dawn took Sam's book and found her place and began to finish the ritual. "Dominicos sanctae ecclesiae. . ."

"Maybe we can still use her. Find out where the demon is," Sam whispered, causing Dawn to stop reading.

"She doesn't know," Buffy pointed out.

"She lied," Sam pointed out.

"Sam, there's in innocent girl trapped in there. We've got to help her."

"You're going to kill her," Bobby informed them, shaking his head.

"What" Buffy demanded.

"You said she fell from a building. That girl's body's broken The only thing keeping her alive is that demon inside. You get rid of it, you're killing her."

"I'm sure she'd rather die a free being than live a trapped slave," Buffy answered. "Dawn, finish it."

"Buffy. . ." Sam protested.

"No, Sam."

Buffy nodded at Dawn, who continued where she left off. "Terogamus audi nos, terribilis deus do sanctuario suo deus israhel. Ipse tribuite virtutem et fortitudinem plebi suae, benedictus deus, gloria patri."

Meg threw back her head and screamed again, this time black smoke billowed out of her mouth and left the room through the fireplace. Her head fell forward, her chin resting on her chest, blood dripping from her mouth.

There were several tense seconds while Sam, Dean, Buffy, Bobby, and Dawn watched the girl for signs of life. No one moved until Meg carefully raised her head.

"She's alive," Dean breathed. He turned to Bobby. "Call 911. Dawn, get some water and blankets."

He and Sam rushed forward and untied Meg as Dawn and Bobby ran out of the room.

"Thank you," Meg whispered, her voice barely audible.

"Just take it easy, alright?" Dean urged. Nodding to Sam, the two of them moved her to the floor as gently as they could.

Meg screamed as they settled her to the floor. After a few deep breaths Meg whispered something else. "A year."

"What?" Buffy asked, coming to her side, a glass of water her hand, Dawn behind her.

"It's been a year," Meg repeated.

"Take it easy, Buffy urged, taking the washcloth that Dawn handed her and dipping it in the water before dabbing at Meg's forehead.

"Was it telling the truth about our Dad?" Dean asked, ignoring the reproachful look on Sam's face.

"Yes," Meg whispered, voice cracking. It was getting harder and harder for her to speak. "They want you to know. . . that they want . . . you to come. . . for him."

"If Dad's alive, that's all that matters," Buffy said.

"Where's the demon we're looking for?" Sam asked.

"Not there," Meg answered. "Other ones. Awful ones."

"Where are they keeping him?" Dean asked.

"By the river. Sunrise," Meg whispered, then she went still, eyes still focused on Dean's.

"Sunrise? What's that mean?" Dean asked.

Meg didn't answer.

* * *

"Bobby, can Dawn stay with you?" Buffy asked, as Dean and Sam packed, getting ready to go.

"I can help!" Dawn protested. "I'm not a kid anymore!"

"That's not what this is about," Buffy corrected. "We don't know what we're walking into. I want you to be backup, in case we need help. I know that Spike is still missing and you don't feel comfortable here, but I trust Bobby, and that should be enough for the time being."

Dawn nodded, through it was very clear that she didn't agree with Buffy at all. "You better beat it," Bobby warned. "Before the paramedics get here."

"What are you going to say to them?" Dean asked. coming up beside Buffy.

"You think you invented lying to the cops?" Bobby scoffed. "I think of something. Here, Sam, take this, you may need it." Bobby held out the book Sam was looking at when they first arrived.

"Thanks," Sam said, taking the book.

"Thank you, for everything," Buffy said, giving Bobby, then Dawn a hug. The three of them got in the Impala, driving away in silence.

* * *

Dean parked the car on the outskirts of Jefferson City. He got out and leaned against the side of the car. Buffy got out and stood beside Dean, looking out across the river. "He's going to be alright," Buffy said.

"You don't know that," Dean mumbled.

"He can't be anything else," Buffy assured him. "Dad doesn't know how to be anything but alright."

Sam had gotten out and was flipping through the book that Bobby lent them. "The two of you've been rather quiet."

Dean pushed off the car and opened the trunk, packing a bag with weapons. "I'm just trying to focus."

"He's going to be alright," Sam reassured him.

Dean didn't answer until he noticed that Sam was drawing on the car. "Dude! What the hell?"

"It's called a Devil's Trap," Sam answered as he drew. " Demons can't get through it or inside it. Works like the Key of Solomon."

"So?" Dean demanded.

"You're turning the trunk into a lockbox?" Buffy asked as Sam began drawing on the other side of the trunk.

"Yeah. So we'll have a place to keep the Colt while we get Dad."

"We're taking the Colt with us," Dean interrupted.

"We can't, Dean. We've only got three bullets left and we can't use them on any demon. We have to use them on The Demon," Sam insisted.

"No, Sam. We're going to need all the help we can get!" Dean argued.

"Dad would be pissed if we used all the bullets before we had a chance to gank The Demon. He wouldn't want us to bring it," Sam said.

"Since when do you care what Dad wants?" Dean demanded.

"We want to kill this demon!" Sam yelled. "You used to want that too! You're the one who picked me up at school! You and Dad started this, I'm just trying to finish it!"

"All I want is my family alive and safe, Sam," Buffy said, "regardless of the Demon's alive or not."

"You know, you and Dad are more alike than I thought," Dean said, pointing at Sam. "You both are so willing to throw your lives away to kill this thing. But you know what? Buffy and I are the ones who are going to have to bury you." He took the Colt out of his pocket and gently placed it in the trunk. "You're selfish, you know that?"

"That's not true," Sam denied. Dean scoffed and shook his head. "I want Dad back, I do, but they're expecting us to bring the gun. They get it, they kill us all. It's our only leverage, and you both know it."

"Fine."

"Dean!"

"I said fine!"

"Let's go," Buffy suggested. Th boys fell in line behind her as she walked to the main road.

* * *

"I think I know what Meg meant by Sunrise," Dean announced fifteen minutes later. He pointed to an apartment complex as Buffy and Sam came to a halt at his side. "Son of a bitch, that's actually pretty smart. I mean, if these demons can possess people, they could be in any one of those people.

"A building of human shields," Buffy muttered.

"And they probably all know what we look like, and we have no way of telling who's possessed and who's not," Sam sighed.

"Yeah," Dean agreed. "This sucks out loud."

"So, how are we going to get in?" Sam asked.

"Fire alarm? Get out all the civilians?" Buffy suggested.

"And the city responds in seven minutes?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, seven minutes," Dean agreed.

"Not a big window, but it's the best we got, unless either of you have a better idea," Buffy said. Neither brother answered.

* * *

Buffy walked into the building and quickly spotted the alarm. She casually walked over to it and pulled the alarm before joining the crowd and leaving the building. She joined Sam outside, waiting for the first responders.

When they got there, Dean distracted them, talking about going in and getting a dog, while she and Sam stole three fireman's uniforms. The dressed when Dean joined them and entered the building with the rest of the firemen.

The broke away from the rest easily enough and Dean turned on the EMF and began scanning the hall. "You know, I always wanted to be a fireman when I grew up," Dean said in a wistful voice.

"You never told me that," Sam responded.

"You never told him that you wanted to be in Mrs. Frizzle's class either," Buffy laughed. "Man, you were in love with Dorothy Anne when you were a kid."

Dean paused and gave Sam an appraising look. "I was ten," Sam defended himself.

Dean didn't answer, distracted by the sudden whirring from the EMF. He turned to his left, and the whirring became louder. He turned it off and stuffed it into a pocket. He motioned for Sam to get to the other side of the door as he moved to stand to the right of the door.

Buffy stood in front and knocked. "This is the Fire Department. We need you to evacuate!"

No sound came from behind the door. Buffy shrugged and decided to put some of her extra strength to use. She lifted up her leg and kicked, but her foot hit a door was had begun to open from the inside. She stumbled forward into the room. There were two demons in the room, a tall man with black hair, and a woman with long, red hair.

"Willow."

"Hey, Buffy. It's nice to see you!" Willow grinned, before launching an attack on Buffy. She managed to block the jab to her head, but was less lucky with the jab to her gut. Sam and Dean were in the room by then, and had pushed the man into a closet.

"Cristo," Sam intoned.

Just like the man on the airplane months ago, Willow shuddered and her green eyes turned jet black. "Good job, sonny boy," Willow grinned. "You're learning, but I'm bored now."

"Too bad," Dean growled, swinging a heavy vase at her head. Willow collapsed and was tossed into the closet with the male demon, a line of salt keeping the two of them in.

The three of them began to search the apartment. It didn't take long to find Dad. He was tied to the bed in the first bedroom they looked in.

"Dad!" Dean called, as he entered the bedroom. He walked up to the side of the bed and placed his palm in front of his mouth. "He's still breathing." Dean shook his shoulder. "Wake up! Come on, Dad! Wake up!"

"Wait, Dean, wait." Sam cautioned, uncapping a vile of Holy Water. "He could be possessed for all we know."

"I hate to admit it, but, Sam's right. We should make sure we know what we're rescuing," Buffy agreed, speaking before Dean could object, looking cautiously at the prone figure of their father.

Sam walked to Dad's other side and poured the water on Dad's exposed arm and shoulder. "Sam, why you getting me wet?" Dad muttered.

"Dad, you're okay?" Dean asked in relief.

"They've been drugging me," Dad whispered as Sam and got to work cutting the ropes that bound him to the bed.

"You're safe now, Dad," Buffy promised, helping him sit up. It took a few minutes to get Dad on his feet without him falling down. Buffy took the lead while Sam and Dean supported Dad between them.

Buffy entered the living room, and was met with two more demons, one with an axe. "Turn around! The fire escape!" she yelled, seamlessly taking Dean's place under Dad's arm as he went to open the window. Sam salted the bedroom door as Buffy and Dean helped Dad out of the window and onto the fire escape. Sam followed, salting the window before heading down the ladder to the ground.

* * *

When all four were on the ground, Dean and Sam supporting Dad, they started for the Impala. They didn't get very far before Buffy was blindsided and fell to the ground. She was pulled onto her back before she was hit again. "Giles!" Buffy shouted. "Giles, please!" Giles didn't answer her, but pinned her down more forcefully, her arms at her sides and him atop her. He continued to punch her relentlessly.

Sam and Dean gently lowered Dad to the ground before going to help. Sam kicked Giles's shoulder, knocking him away slightly, but not doing much. Giles retaliated by flinging him into the windshield of a nearby car. Sam groaned and rolled off the car just as a shot rang out.

Sam turned around as he got to his feet. He saw Dean, an undefinable expression on his face, holding a smoking Colt, that was pointed where Giles's head had been. As Dean lowered the gun, Sam rushed to Buffy and pulled Giles off of her.

Buffy's face was red, blood flowing from cuts on her lip, forehead, and cheek. Her eyes were red and tears were falling down her face. "Giles," she moaned, hiccuping. Sam helped her to her feet and helped her to the car before coming back and helping Dean with Dad.

* * *

"How are they?" Sam asked, leaning on the doorframe. He had just salted the doors and windows. Dean was sitting on one of the two beds in the room, brushing Buffy's hair out of her face as she slept.

"Dad'll just need some rest. Buffy. . . I don't know. From what she's told me since this whole thing started, Giles was a kind of father to her, back when. . . And he's the one who attacked her. I think her injuries are more emotional than physical," Dean answered.

"You don't think that they'll find us out here, do you?" Sam asked in concern.

"I don't think so. I don't think we could've found a less out of the way place to hole up," Dean admitted.

"You saved her life, back there," Sam observed.

"So you're glad I brought the gun, huh?" Dean asked dryly.

"Yeah, I guess I am," Sam admitted, a shy smile on his face.

"Hey, Sam?"

"Yeah?"

"There was a person in that guy I shot. A person that Buffy was very close to."

"You didn't have a choice, Dean," Sam reassured him.

"I know. That's not what bothers me," Dean confessed. "Killing that guy, killing Meg, I didn't hesitate. I didn't even flinch. For you, Dad, and Buffy, the things I'm willing to do or kill, it just scares me sometimes."

"It shouldn't," Dad said, walking in from the other bedroom. "You did good."

Dean turned to look at Dad, surprised. "You're not mad?"

"Why should I be?"

"I used a bullet," Dean said.

"Mad? I'm proud of you. You watch out for this family, and you always have," Dad said, smiling. Dean gave a small bashful smile. Suddenly the lights began to flicker. "It found us. It's here."

"The Demon?" Sam asked.

"Sam, salt lines at every door and window," Dad ordered.

"I already did that."

"Check them!" Sam left at his dad's order "Dean, you got the gun?"

"Yeah," Dean answered. "Sam tried to shoot it in Salvation, it vanished."

"What's going on?" Buffy asked, groaning, still half asleep.

"The Demon's coming. Dean, give me the gun. I won't miss," Dad pleaded, arm outstretched.

"You'd be furious," Dean said, in realization.

"What?" Buffy asked, confused, looking between Dean, who was beside her, to her father, who was standing at the foot of the bed.

"He'd be beyond angry that I wasted a bullet," Dean repeated, drawing the Colt and cocking it. "He wouldn't be proud of me, he'd tear me a new one! You're not my dad!"

Buffy took a closer look at her father, then remembered what she felt when Meg was still inside the girl they rescued at Bobby's. She closed her eyes and concentrated on her senses. There it was. A barely there pulsing sensation that told her that whatever was standing in front of her wasn't her father, not entirely, anyway.

"Dean, it's me!" Dad insisted.

"I know my dad better than anyone, and you aren't him!" Dean growled.

"What the hell's gotten into you!" Dad shouted.

"We could ask you the same thing," Buffy said, standing up and coming to a halt at Dean's side.

Sam picked that moment to come back into the room. "What's going on?"

"Your brother and sister have lost their minds," Dad answered quickly.

"He's not Dad," Dean replied.

"What?" Sam asked in disbelief.

"He's possessed, probably from the minute we rescued him," Buffy explained.

"Don't listen to them, Sammy," Dad said.

"How can you tell?" Sam asked.

"Cristo!" Buffy said firmly.

Dad shuddered and his eyes. . . oh his eyes. They were a bright neon yellow. Sam quickly walked over behind Dean and Buffy. "It's you, isn't it? We've been looking for you for a long time."

"Well, you found me," Azazel taunted, contorting Dad's features into a hideous grin. He waved his hand and the three of them were flung across the room and pinned to the wall. Dean dropped the Colt when he was flung into the wall, and Azazel picked it up, examining it. "What a pain in the ass this thing's been."

"Why didn't the Holy Water work on you?" Sam demanded.

"You think something that weak works on something as powerful as me?" Azazel chuckled.

"I'm going to kill you!" Sam growled.

"That would be a great trick," Azazel laughed, placing the Colt on the bed. "In fact, make the gun float to you, psychic boy!" He smirked and started pacing from one sibling to the other. "I could've killed all of you a hundreds of times today, but this, this was worth the wait." He halted in front of Dean, a manic expression on his face. "Your daddy? He's in here with me, trapped inside his own meat suit. And he's going to tear you apart!"

"Let him go," Buffy ordered. "Or I swear to god. . ."

"What? What are you and your god going to do about it?" Azazel demanded. "This is justice, as far as I'm concerned." He cocked his head and walked over to Buffy, whispering in her ear, loudly enough for the other two to hear, "You know that little exorcism of yours? That was my daughter. That guy your brother gunned down was my boy."

"You're not the only one who lost someone today," Buffy said, at the same time Dean rolled his eyes.

"You've got to be kidding me!"

Azazel returned his attention to Dean. "What? You think humans are the only kind of being that can have a family? You destroyed my children, how would you feel if I killed your family?" Dean glared at the smirking face of his father and didn't answer. "Oh, that's right. I already did."

"You son of a bitch."

"I want to know why," Sam interrupted.

Azazel turned his attention to Sam for the first time, slowly wondering over to him. "You mean why did I kill your mother and pretty little Jess?" he asked. Sam nodded.

Azazel turned to Dean and Buffy. "You know, he never told you two this, but Sam was gonna ask her to marry him. Been shoppin' for rings and everything." He returned his attention to Sam. "You wanna know why? Because they got in the way!"

"In the way of what?" Sam asked, confused.

"My plans for you," Azazel explained. "And all the children like you. Just as Buffy's little friends were getting her ready for my plans for her."

"Listen, you mind getting this over with? I really hate chatty bad guys," Buffy asked, in a bored tone.

"I'm getting tired of the monologuing," Dean agreed.

Azazel returned his attention to the older two. "Same old MO, huh Dean? Using humor to mask how screwed you really feel, masking the truth."

"Oh yeah? What's that?"

"You know, you fight and fight for this family, but the truth is that they don't need you, not like you need them. Sammy's clearly John's favorite. Even when they fight, it's more concern than he's ever shown you. And Buffy's not really your sister, just some cosmic joke and now that she knows she's going to leave you behind."

"I bet you're real proud of your kids too," Dean sneered. "Oh, that's right. I wasted them."

Azazel lowered his head in a bow, before jerking it up again, a manic grin on his face. Dean screamed in pain, blood seeping into his clothes and dying them a deep red.

"NO!" Buffy screamed, Sam's cries blending into hers. "Dean, no!"

All Buffy's screams achieved was her agony. Azazel turned to her and inflicted the same pain on her.

"Buffy!" Sam screamed.

"Dad, please!" Dean begged. "Don't let it kill me, please!"

There was a pause and the pain eased a little as Azazel's yellow faded and John's blue returned. "Stop," he said tearfully. "Stop it."

Sam jerked free and grabbed the Colt from the corner of the bed where Azazel left it. Dad jerked, his movements becoming sharp again, eyes returned to that bright yellow. He looked up at Sam, unsure if Sam would do it. "You kill me you kill Daddy."

"I know," Sam agreed, and shot the demon wearing his father in the leg. Azazel fell onto his back as both Buffy and Dean fell to the floor. "Dean? Oh god, you lost a lot of blood."

"Where's Dad?" Dean whispered.

"He's here," Sam assured him. "Oh, Buffy, you look worse than Dean does."

Buffy managed to lift herself onto her hands and knees and crawled over to Sam and Dean. "I gotta say, being a Vampire Slayer's got its perks," she groaned as she lowered herself back to the floor and pulled Dean into her lap.

"Go check on Dad," Dean asked. "Please, Sammy, check on him." Sam nodded.

"How're you holding up?" Buffy asked, brushing her fingers over Dean's forehead.

"As good as can be expected," Dean whispered.

"Dad?" Sam asked, gently shaking him.

Dad opened his eyes, and Sam felt great relief when they were their usual blue. "Sammy, it's still here! Still alive, I can feel it. You shoot me! You shoot me in the heart, son!" Buffy and Dean raised their heads to see Sam pointing the Colt at Dad, tears in his eyes and crawling down his face. "Do it now!"

"Sammy, please!" Buffy begged.

"Don't do it, Sammy!" Dean cried. "Don't you do it!"

"You've got to hurry," Dad shouted. "I can't hold onto it for much longer! Shoot me! I'm begging you! Shoot me!"

"Sam, don't make me loose another father!" Buffy cried.

"No, Sam," Dean implored. Before Sam could move, Dad arched up, mouth open wide, and screamed, black smoke billowing out, leaving by breaking a window. The sudden cold seemed to have frozen all four of them as they stayed where they were, panting.

Sam was the first to move, lowering his arm and wiping his forehead. "We need to get out of here."

His voice roused the others and Buffy looked up at him. "Sam, help me." Sam helped Buffy get to her feet, then he helped her get Dean into the back seat of the car. Dean groaned, but otherwise didn't make any move to stop them. Buffy got in beside Dean as Sam went in to get their father.

* * *

Dad was fussier than Dean had been, and insisted on getting in the car himself. Sam let him and climbed into the driver's seat, in front of Dean, as Dad got into the passenger's seat.

"I'm surprised at you, Sam," Dad said as they pulled onto the high way fifteen minutes later. "Why didn't you kill it? I thought we saw eye to eye on this one, killing that demon comes first."

"Hurts," Buffy muttered as Sam hit a pothole.

"I'm sorry, but hang in there, Buffy. The hospital's only ten minutes away," Sam assured her, then turned his attention to Dad. "No, sir. Not everything. We still have the Colt and one bullet left. We're just gonna have to. . ."

He was cut off by a eighteen-wheeler slamming into the right side of the Impala. The truck pushed the car half a mile before both came to a halt.


End file.
